Funds for cooperative research by Government and private institutions into the causes of dependency and how they can be alleviated; and Increased emphasis in our assistance programs to help welfare recipients achieve a status of self-support and self-care, with the help of coordinated retraining, rehabilitation, and employment efforts. (These proposals are embodied in S. 3139; H. R. 9091, 9120.) 3. Intensified research into chronic disease and mental illness The administration is requesting an increase over the current fiscal year of $27.4 million in appropriations to the National Institutes of Health for medical research and training and related purposes, with emphasis on the problems of chronic illness frequently associated with the later years of life. For example, increases of $3.1 million for heart research and related activties, $7.3 million for cancer activities, and over $2.4 million in increased funds for arthritis and related diseases are being requested. As for the special problems of mental illness, the budget submitted to Congress calls for an increase of $3.6 million in research and related activities, and, contingent upon the enactment of the recommended legislation, $1.5 million for a program of grants to States for conducting special demonstration projects in the field of care and treatment of mental illness. (This legislation is contained in title VI of S. 886 and H. R. 3458, 3720.) These expenditures will include research and projects of particular value to improving the care of aged patients both in and outside of mental institutions. 4. Health services to the aged The administration is working along several lines to improve health services to the aged, namely: (a) Requesting legislation for additional public-assistance grants, to be matched by the States, for paying medical care costs of indigent older persons, as recommended last year (S. 3139; H. R. 9091, 9120). (b) Encouraging continuation of the protection of voluntary health insurance plans for retired employees, through reinsurance and pooling arrangements. (c) Recommending enactment by Congress of a system of mortgage insurance to encourage the construction of more nursing homes and other health facilities (S. 886; H. R. 3458, 3720, title II). (d) Strengthening of the Federal-State hospital-construction program by a requested increase of $19 million in funds, with increased emphasis on chronic-disease hospitals and wings in hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities for long-term care at a lower per-patient day cost. 5. Housing Several steps are being recommended by the administration to help assure adequate housing opportunities for our older persons: 1. The United States Housing Act should be amended to make elderly single persons eligible for public housing units suitable for them and to permit local housing authorities to give preference to older persons and their families in admission to federally assisted public housing projects. States and municipalities should consider adopting a similar policy. 2. The National Housing Act should be amended to authorize insurance under especially favorable mortgage terms for apartment projects built by nonprofit organizations for occupancy by older persons. 3. Favorable mortgage insurance terms should also be accorded other multiunit rental projects designed for at least partial occupancy by the aging. 4. Finally, provision should be made to permit third parties, which could be either organizations or individuals, to provide the downpayment and to guarantee monthly interest and amortization payments in behalf of older persons buying a home under a federally insured mortgage. (These proposals are embodied in S. 3302, H. R. 9537.) 6. Older persons in rural areas The elderly in rural areas are often remote from transportation and living alone where services such as nursing and medical services are difficult to obtain. The rural development program being undertaken by the Department of Agriculture, other Federal agencies, and State and local communities will include research and program activities to provide better health and medical care in those rural areas where the need of the aging is greatest. 7. Education As older persons find more time for self-development and self-expression, every encouragement and opportunity must be provided for them. New emphasis to these areas will be given through (a) The services of the United States Office of Education, in helping the States, institutions of higher education, and voluntary groups to develop educational services to retrain adults for work opportunities suited to aging persons, to provide educational opportunities to keep aging citizens competent in contemporary citizen problems, and to encourage use of older persons in appropriate educational services. (b) Development of preretirement informational or counseling services in Federal departments, and the sharing of experiences in such programs with other employers, public and private. 8. Federal Council on Aging A Federal Council on Aging is being established by the President to assist in coordinating the programs of the various Federal departments and agencies which have a special concern with aging, and to assist those departments in achieving more effective governmentwide approach to the needs of our older citizens. 9. Cooperation with States It is imperative that the Federal Government's activities in the field of aging be in support of and complementary to the activities of State, local, and voluntary groups. The States have taken constructive leadership, and many have organized or are organizing State commissions on aging. The recent report of the Council of State Governments is a highly constructive contribution in this field. The Federal Council on Aging will undertake as an initial project, with the joint sponsorship of the Council of State Governments, the holding of a planning conference of State representatives and key Federal personnel. The departments and agencies represented on the Federal Council on Aging are Department of Agriculture, Civil Service Commission, Department of Commerce, Office of Defense Mobilization, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Housing and_Home Finance Agency, Department of Interior, Department of Labor, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration, Department of the Treasury, Veterans' Administration. Inquiries about the Council should be addressed to Louis H. Ravin, secretary, room 4358, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington 25, D. C. Inquiries about the program of a particular department or agency should be made direct. FEDERAL COUNCIL ON AGING, Washington, D. C. |