U.S. Senate Committee approves legislation to reauthorize programs for older adults

Key Takeaways

On July 31, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) approved the bipartisan Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act (OAA) of 2024 (S.4776) on a 20-1 vote. The OAA was last reauthorized under the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020 (PL 116-131), which is set to expire on September 30, 2024. S.4776 would reauthorize the OAA, which funds critical programs and services that help older adults live independently their communities. County governments are key recipients of OAA funding and have long called for Congress to reauthorize and fully fund OAA programs so that we can meet growing demand for services. 

• Counties and the Older Americans Act: The majority of OAA funding is distributed to Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), public or private non-profit agencies which coordinate programs and services for senior citizens at the local level. Roughly 31 percent of the 614 AAAs across the nation operate within county or city governments, while another 23 percent operate within regional planning councils or councils of governments that often include counties. 
• Funding challenges: As the nation’s population rapidly ages, counties face increasing demand and challenges in providing comprehensive systems of care to their older residents. While the 2020 OAA reauthorization included annual increases in the authorized funding level for core services programs, this funding is discretionary and subject to the annual appropriations process. Congress has not provided full funding for OAA through regular appropriations. Without additional resources, counties will face new challenges in providing the rapidly aging population with access to critical services.
• Reauthorization highlights: S.4776 includes several county priorities, such as increased flexibility over the operation of senior nutrition programs, codifying a national resource center to support the direct care workforce and ongoing supports for grandparents raising grandchildren. It would furthermore allow Congress to appropriate more than $2.7 billion in funding in the next fiscal year and boost spending by 44 percent over the next five years. However, the measure falls short of directly appropriating funds to ensure those authorized increases are realized.

Now that S.4776 has passed out of Committee, it can receive a floor vote in the Senate. To become law, the House will then need to consider and approve the measure. With both chambers departed for August Recess, further action on the legislation is unlikely to occur until the fall. 

NACo supports the bipartisan OAA of 2024 and encourages Congress to quickly pass and fully fund the legislation so that counties can receive critical resources to serve our aging residents.