CONTENTS Page Harger, Mrs. Eone, director, New Jersey Division on Aging, Depart- 26 Schweinhaut, Hon. Margaret C., Maryland State senator and chair- 15 Bechill, William D., Commissioner, Administration on Aging, Social and Rehabilitation Service, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, statement of Fitch, William C., Executive Assistant to the President, the National Giddings, Ernest, legislative representative, National Retired Teach- ers Association, American Association of Retired Teachers, state- Harger, Mrs. Eone, director, Division on Aging, State of New Jersey 33 Stringer, Herald E., director, the American Legion, letter to Chairman 33 WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON AGING TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1968 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 9:10 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room 2257, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Dominick V. Daniels (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Daniels and Steiger of Wisconsin. Staff members present: Dan Krivit, counsel; Loretta Bowen, clerk; and Marty LaVor, minority legislative consultant. (The text of H.J. Res. 1271 follows:) [H.J. Res. 1271, 90th Cong., second sess.] JOINT RESOLUTION To provide that it be the sense of Congress that a White House Conference on Aging be called by the President of the United States in 1971, to be planned and conducted by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to assist the States in conducting similar conferences on aging prior to the White House Conference on Aging, and for related purposes Whereas the primary responsibility for meeting the challenge and problems of aging is that of the States and communities, all levels of government are involved and must necessarily share responsibility; and it is therefore the policy of the Congress that the Federal Government shall work jointly with the States and their citizens, to develop recommendations and plans for action, consistent with the objectives of this joint resolution, which will serve the purposes of— (1) assuring middle-aged and older persons equal opportunity with others to engage in gainful employment which they are capable of performing; and (2) enabling retired persons to enjoy incomes sufficient for health and for participation in family and community life as self-respecting citizens; and (3) providing housing suited to the needs of older persons and at prices they can afford to pay; and (4) assisting middle-aged and older persons to make the preparation, develop skills and interests, and find social contacts which will make the gift of added years of life a period of reward and satisfaction; and (5) stepping up research designed to relieve old age of its burdens of sickness, mental breakdown, and social ostracism; and (6) evaluating progress made since the last White House Conference on Aging, and examining the changes which the next decade will bring in the character of the problems confronting older persons; and Whereas it is essential that in all programs developed for the aging, emphasis should be upon the right and obligation of older persons to free choice_and self-help in planning their own futures: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) the President of the United States is authorized to call a White House Conference on Aging in 1971 in order to develop recommendations for further research and action in the field of aging, which will further the policies set forth in the preamble of this joint resolution, shall be planned and conducted under the direction of the Secretary who shall have the cooperation and assistance of such other Federal departments and agencies, including the assignment of personnel, as may be appropriate. (1) (b) For the purpose of arriving at facts and recommendations concerning the utilization of skills, experience, and energies and the improvement of the conditions of our older people, the conference shall bring together representatives of Federal, State, and local governments, professional and lay people who are working in the field of aging, and of the general public, including older persons themselves. (c) A final report of the White House Conference on Aging shall be submitted to the President not later than one hundred and twenty days following the date on which the Conference is called and the findings and recommendations included therein shall be immediately made available to the public. The Commissioner on Aging shall, within ninety days after the submission of such final report, transmit to the President and the Congress its recommendations for the administrative action and the legislation necessary to implement the recommendations contained in such report. GRANTS SEC. 2. (a) There is hereby authorized to be paid to each State which shall submit an application for funds for the exclusive use in planning and conducting a State conference on aging prior to and for the purpose of developing facts and recommendations and preparing a report of the findings for presentation to the White House Conference on Aging, in defraying costs incident to the State's delegates attending the White House Conference on Aging, and in evaluating and concluding, within one year subsequent to the White House Conference, the work of the State with respect to the national and State conferences and related activities, and transmitting a report on such evaluation to the Commissioner on Aging for distribution to the other States, a sum to be determined by the Secretary, but not less than $5,000 nor more than $30,000, such sums to be paid only from funds specifically appropriated for this purpose. (b) Payment shall be made by the Secretary to an officer designated by the Governor of the State to receive such payment and to assume responsibility for organizing and conducting the State conference, except that, in any State in which there is a State agency established or designated as provided in section 303 of the Older Americans Act of 1965, such payment shall be made to such agency and it shall be given an appropriate opportunity to participate in the activities in the State under this section. ADMINISTRATION SEC. 3. In administering this joint resolution, the Secretary shall— (a) request the cooperation and assistance of such other Federal departments and agencies as may be appropriate in carrying out the provisions of this joint resolution; (b) render all reasonable assistance to the States in enabling them to organize and conduct conferences on aging prior to the White House Conference on Aging; (c) prepare and make available background materials for the use of delegates to the White House Conference as he may deem necessary and shall prepare and distribute such report or reports of the Conference as may be indicated; and (d) in carrying out the provisions of this joint resolution, engage such additional personnel as may be necessary without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive civil service, and without regard to chapter 57 and subchapter 111 of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates. ADVISORY COMMITTEES SEC. 4. The Secretary is authorized and directed to establish an Advisory Committee to the White House Conference on Aging composed of the Commissioner on Aging and not more than twenty-one professional and public members, at least one-half of whom shall be fifty-five years of age or older to advise and assist in planning and conducting the Conference. The Secretary shall designate one of the appointed members as Chairman, and the Commissioner on Aging shall be the Vice Chairman. Appointed members of such committees, who are not officers or employees of the United States, while attending conferences or meetings of their committees or otherwise serving at the request of the Secretary, shall be entitled to receive compensation at a rate to be fixed by the Secretary but not exceeding $75 per diem, including traveltime, and while away from their homes or regular places of business they may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized under section 5703 of title 5 of the United States Code for persons in the Government service employed intermittently. DEFINITIONS SEC. 5. For the purposes of this joint resolution— (1) the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; and (2) the term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Íslands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Mr. DANIELS. The Select Subcommittee on Education will come to order. The Select Subcommittee on Education meets this morning for the express purpose of considering House Joint Resolution 1271, requesting the President to call a White House Conference on Aging in 1971. I am proud to have introduced this joint resolution along with many other members of the Committee on Education and Labor. Because of the ever-changing characteristics of our older population, it is appropriate to set aside a period from time to time during which those who exercise significant responsibilities in the private sector and those who formulate Government programs can come together and reevaluate the needs and characteristics of the older persons they are attempting to serve. Today, every 10th American-a truly significant part of our total population is age 65 or over, and each year 1.4 million, or 7 percent, are newcomers to this age group. A look at a few more statistics reveals other factors which need to be considered by the proposed White House Conference. At age 65, men can expect to live another 13 years, and women can expect to live another 16 years. Half never got to high school. Some 3 million, or 17 percent, are illiterate or functionally illiterate. Ninety percent of the 8 million older men and almost 80 percent of the 11 million older women live in their own households either as heads or wives of heads of the households. Only a small minority, 4 percent, or 800,000 older persons, lives in institutions. Older people have an aggregate income of $40 or $45 billion a year. Almost half of this is from retirement and welfare programs, almost a third from employment, and about a fifth from investments and contributions. The resolution that we are considering today would not only call for a White House Conference on Aging, but it would also provide every State with the opportunity to call its own conference on aging prior to the National Conference. Each State would therefore have an opportunity to convene its leaders to determine the needs of its own older population and to bring their recommendations to the national forum. It is the intent of the State and National conferences to seek and develop recommendations and plans for action which would (1) Assure older persons equal opportunity with others to engage in meaningful and gainful employment which they are capable of performing; (2) Enable retired persons to enjoy incomes sufficient for health and participation in family and community life as selfrespecting citizens; |