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Senior Citizens
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Senior Citizens
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Gerald R. Ford Vice Presidential Papers
Paul Miltich's Subject Files
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Old age
Presidential messages
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The original documents are located in Box 161, folder "Senior Citizens" of the Gerald R.
Ford Vice Presidential Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald R. Ford donated to the
United States of America her copyrights in all of her husband's unpublished writings in National
Archives collections. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official
duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or
organizations are presumed to remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed
in the PDF is subject to a valid copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential
Library.
Some items in this folder were not digitized because it contains copyrighted
materials. Please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library for access to
these materials.
A 10
Friday, Dec. 3, 1971
THE WASHINGTON POST
R
'Younger and Older Ameri
Following is a partial text
in increased social security
country from Switzerland
signed to expand pension
of President Nixon's pre-
benefits-and, when it is
many years ago. They set-
coverage and to ensure that
pared address to the White
fully effective-another 2.5
tled in California as home-
billion dollars in new bene-
pension funds are soundly
House Conference on Aging:
steaders, full of hope and
and honestly managed. It
fits to persons with lower in-
pride. And over the years
In recent years a gulf has
will also recommended new
comes. My proposal to elim-
that followed they made
been opening between older
inate the monthly Medicare
their dreams come true.
laws to require the vesting
Americans and the rest of
fee would enrich this 5.5 bil-
But today-many years
of pensions-to ensure that
our people. This gulf is the
the benefits which accu-
lion dollar package by an
later-things have changed,
product, in large measure,
additional 1.4 billion dollars
mulate in a person's work-
so much SO that Mrs. Ewing
ing vears are paid to him
ging
cans Need One Another
ing homes, for example.
panded resources more
tional 50,000 volunteers can
to carefully consider both
Many of them - like my 91-
effectively at the local level.
be involved. I will request
proposals and to make rec-
year-old aunt in California
Toward this end, I will di-
that the Foster Grandparent
ommendations to me at an
- receive excellent care in
rect the Social Security Ad-
the the Foster Grandpa
early date.
pleasant surroundings. But
ministration to provide an
rents programs be doubled
Your work is not yet over.
many do not - and there is
information center in each
to $25 million and will ask
You have a message to take
little they can do about it.
of its 889 district and branch
that this program be altered
home with you from this
This is why I announced last
offices to help explain all
so that foster grandparents
Conference-a messag e
summer an 8-point program
Federal programs which aid
can work with older persons
which must now be heard in
the elderly
as well as with children.
every community in this
he
d
FORD is LIBRARY 0ERALD
Senior
HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 1:00 PM (EST),
THURSDAY MARCH 23, 1972
Office of the White House Press Elerly Secretary
citizens
THE WHITE HOUSE
FACT SHEET
MESSAGE ON OLDER AMERICANS
In his message, the President outlines a comprehensive
strategy for the complex problems faced by older Americans.
There are 5 major elements:
1. Improving the income position of older Americans.
2. Upgrading the quality of nursing homes.
3. Helping older Americans lead dignified, independent
lives in their own homes.
4. Expanding opportunities for the involvement of older
persons in community life.
5. Organizing the Government to meet the changing needs
of older Americans.
In 1973, the Federal Government will spend an estimated
$50 billion on behalf of older Americans, nearly 50% more than
in 1969. One example of increased concern for the elderly is
the increase in overall Federal spending under the Older
Americans Act; spending under this Act has risen from $32
million in 1969 to a proposed $157 million as announced in the
1973 budget. The President is recommending a further increase
of $100 million for nutrition and related services. This will
bring total spending in 1973 to $257 million -- an eight fold
increase.
1. IMPROVING THE INCOME
POSITION OF OLDER AMERICANS
The President has signed into law social security
increases amounting to more than a 26 percent rise
since 1969 -- a $10 billion annual increase in in-
come for the elderly. When the proposed 5% benefit
increase in H.R. 1 is enacted, the increase in a
2 1/2 year period would be one-third, the largest
such increase in the history of social security.
In his message the President urges Congress to
enact the new income benefits for older Americans
contained in H.R. 1, which would total $5 1/2 billion
when fully effective. This includes $3 billion in
increased social security benefits and $2 1/2 billion
in new benefits for the needy elderly.
Other important reforms contained in H.R. 1 include
the first national income floor for older Americans;
guaranteed inflation-proof social security benefits;
a modified retirement earnings test to allow an
individual to earn more after retirement without
losing social security benefits; increased benefits
for delayed retirement; and special minimum benefits
for people who have worked for 15 or more years under
social security.
more
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
2
The President will propose a program to increase
the incomes of military retirees and improve the
military retirement system. This includes re-
computing retired pay on the basis of January, 1971
military pay scales, and improving the protection
of survivors of retired personnel.
Older veterans are benefiting from improved medicare
care for veterans. In fiscal year 1973, 844,000
veterans will be treated in VA hospitals, and ap-
proximately one-fourth of these veterans will be
over age 65. Veterans' pensions were increased by
an average of 10 percent in calendar year 1971
and are being increased by another 6 1/2 percent
in 1972.
Benefits for retired Federal employees and their
families have been improved by increasing annuities
as the cost of living rises, and by liberalizing
health and other retirement benefits.
The President has submitted a program to reform and
expand private pension programs, through:
-- tax deductions to encourage independent savings
toward retirement;
-- more generous tax deductions for self-employed
persons;
-- vesting of pensions to insure that persons who
have worked for an employer for a significant
period will retain their pension rights;
-- management of pension funds exclusively in the
interest of beneficiaries; and
-- a one-year study of pension plan terminations
by the Departments of Labor and Treasury.
The President announced (August 1971) a New Economic
Policy to help reduce inflationary pressures that
are so harmful to older Americans receiving relatively
fixed incomes.
The President reaffirmed his commitment to relieve
the burden of property taxes.
Recent and pending changes in income tax laws would
provide special help to older persons (a single
person aged 65 or older would be able to receive up
to $5,100 of income without paying any Federal in-
come taxes, while a married couple with both husband
and wife 65 or older would be able to earn up to
$8,000 of such tax free income.)
The President directs his Office of Consumer Affairs
to develop recommendations for further action to
make older citizens aware of their legal rights
under the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act
and to help the States develop consumer education
programs specifically designed for older citizens.
The President's comprehensive health proposals also
can reduce the burden of health costs on the elderly:
He has:
more
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
3
-- Requested that the monthly $5.80 Medicare
supplementary premium fee be eliminated,
yielding older persons $1.5 billion.
---- Urged several measures contained in H.R. 1
to reduce health costs for older Americans,
including extending Medicare to many of the
disabled who have been forced to retire early,
enabling Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in
Health Maintenance Organizations, and clarifying
coverage for extended care facilities after
hospitalization.
2. UPGRADING THE QUALITY
OF NURSING HOMES
The President announced an 8-point plan to upgrade the
quality of nursing homes in August of 1971. The Administration
has:
Trained almost 450 State nursing home inspectors
in Federally-sponsored programs;
Submitted legislation to provide 100 percent
Federal funding of State Medicaid inspections of
nursing homes;
Established an Office of Nursing Home Affairs in
the Office of the Secretary of Health, Education
and Welfare;
Increased Medical Services Administration personnel
by 142 positions to enforce Medicaid standards and
regulations;
Funded a short-term training program for nursing
home personnel (20,000 in fiscal year 1972; 21,000
in fiscal year 1973.);
Designated Social Security district offices to receive
and investigate nursing home complaints;
Initiated a comprehensive analysis of the issues
related to long-term care; and
Improved the enforcement of nursing home standards,
including the decertification of 13 substandard
nursing homes.
3. ENHANCING THE INDEPENDENCE
OF OLDER AMERICANS
To help older Americans lead dignified, independent lives
in their own homes, the President:
Increased the 1972 budget of the Administration on
Aging to $100 million for 1973 -- to provide home-
maker, transportation, nutrition and community
services. He will request an additional $100 million
for funding of increased nutrition and related services.
Called for indefinite extension of the Older Americans
Act and proposed amendments to strengthen service
delivery:
more
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
4
-- HEW would increase its financial support for
the State Agencies on Aging and fund up to
90% of services costs and up to 75% of the
administrative costs of new Area Planning
Agencies on Aging.
--- State and Area Planning Agencies would plan to
mobilize wide range resources -- public and
private - to enhance the independence of older
citizens.
Announced new procedures for interagency coordination
of Federal resources which aid older persons. Under
these procedures Federal agencies will identify each
year that portion of their resources they expect to
spend the next year to help older persons meet their
needs. State Agencies on Aging will use this infor-
mation for more effective planning and delivery of
services.
Set up a system whereby nearly 900 Social Security
district offices will provide information on benefits
available to the elderly;
Asked the Domestic Council Committee on Aging to
examine ways to use other government offices -- such
as the General Services Administration's Federal In-
formation Centers and the Agricultural Extension
Service's local offices --- to expand the information
and complaint centers;
Will launch an outreach campaign (Project FIND) to
increase the participation of eligible older persons
in the food assistance programs of the Department of
Agriculture (i.e., food stamps and surplus commodities).
The campaign will be conducted through a network of
existing Federally operated or funded field offices
and outreach workers;
Urged action on the recent legislative proposal of the
Secretary of Transportation that some of the Highway
Trust Fund be used to finance mass transportation and
asked the Secretary of Transportation to develop
specific suggestions for helping States and localities
use a portion of these resources for the elderly.
Announced that the Department of Transportation will
give priority to community requests for capital grants
that aid the elderly from the Urban Mass Transportation
Fund. The President urges States and localities to
move immediately to take advantage of available
resources.
Made housing money more readily available for older
Americans. In fiscal year 1972 and fiscal year 1973
HUD will reach an all-time record in producing
specially designed, subsidized and insured housing
and nursing homes.
--- 66,000 units of HUD-subsidized housing units
specially designed for the elderly are planned
for fiscal year 1972 and an estimated 82,000
for fiscal year 1973.
--- 14,000 units under the Nursing Home and Inter-
mediate Care Facility Program, are planned in
fiscal year 1972 and an estimated 18,000 in
fiscal year 1973.
more
BERALD FORD LIBRARY
5
HUD has also issued guidelines to make the
Section 236 subsidized rental program more
responsive to the needs of the elderly and
to provide technical assistance to non-profit
sponsors under the Section 106(a) program.
Announced that HUD will extend the mortgage
maturity for the FHA insured nursing home
program to a maximum of 40 years -- enabling
sponsors to "package" residential and nursing
home complexes more easily.
Requested HUD to work with the Administration
on Aging to develop training programs in the
management of housing for the elderly.
Directed the Secretary of HUD to encourage more
space for senior centers in subsidized housing
projects for the elderly.
4. EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES
FOR INVOLVEMENT
To expand opportunities for more older Americans to make
meaningful contributions in all facets of society, the President:
Proposed legislation to expand ACTION's person-to-
person volunteer programs to permit low-income
elderly persons to work with children of special
need in community settings and with older Americans
in nursing homes and in the community.
Supported a national effort of volunteer organizations
designed to help the elderly to remain in their own
homes.
Tripled the Retired Senior Volunteers Program, to
$15 million, to involve 75,000 volunteers.
Doubled the Foster Grandparents Program to $25 million,
providing for 11,500 foster grandparents to serve
23,000 children per day.
Doubled the special job projects for older persons,
such as Green Thumb and Senior Aides, to $26 million,
to involve as many as 10,000 older persons.
Will propose legislation to broaden the coverage of
the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to include
the fastest growing area of employment -- the State
and local governments.
Directed the Secretary of Labor to work on expanding
employment opportunities for persons over 65 by
urging the States and local communities to include
older Americans in jobs provided by the Emergency
Employment Act of 1971 and working with public em-
ployment offices to help open job opportunities
in both the public and private sectors.
Will send a directive to heads of Federal departments
and agencies to emphasize the policy that age shall
be no bar to a Federal job which an individual is
otherwise qualified to perform.
more
FORD LIBRARY
6
5. ORGANIZING THE GOVERNMENT
To better coordinate present and future efforts for older
Americans, the President has:
Created a new Domestic Council cabinet level
committee on aging, chaired by HEW Secretary
Richardson.
Created the position of Special Assistant on
Aging, John Martin.
Appointed a Special Consultant on Aging,
Arthur Flemming.
To augment these efforts the Administration will:
Strengthen the Secretary of HEW's Advisory Com-
mittee on Older Americans -- providing it with
permanent staff to support its increased
responsibilities.
Arrange to have the Chairman of the Advisory
Committee report directly to the Secretary of
Health, Education and Welfare.
Create a Technical Advisory Committee on Aging
Research reporting to the Advisory Committee to
develop a comprehensive plan of social,
psychological, health, education, and economic
research in HEW affecting the aged.
####
FORD i LIBRARY GERALD
HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 1:00 PM Elderly
THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1972
Office of the White House Press Secretary
THE WHITE HOUSE
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
When I addressed the White House Conference on Aging
last December, I pledged that I would do all I could to
make 1972 a year of action on behalf of older Americans.
This message to the Congress represents an important step
in fulfilling that promise.
Many of the actions which are outlined in this message
have grown out of concerns expressed at the White House
Conference and at related meetings across the country. The
message also discusses a number of steps that have already
been taken or that were announced at an earlier date. All
of these actions are part of our comprehensive strategy for
helping older Americans.
The momentum which has been generated by all these
steps -- old and new -- will move us toward the great
national objectives which the White House Conference set
forth. I pledge that this momentum will be sustained as
we follow through on these initiatives and as we keep other
recommendations of the White House Conference at the top of
our agenda, under continuing review.
This message, then, does not represent the last word I
will have to say on this important subject. It does, however,
identify those administrative steps which we are taking im-
mediately to help older Americans, along with a number of
legislative initiatives which should be of highest priority
on this year's Congressional agenda.
We often hear these days about the "impatience of youth."
But if we stop to think about the matter, it is the elderly
who have the best reason to be impatient. As so many older
Americans have candidly told me, "We simply do not have time
to wait while the Government procrastinates. For us, the
future is now." I believe this same sense of urgency should
characterize the Government's response to the concerns of
the elderly. I hope and trust that the Congress will join
me in moving forward in that spirit.
A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
MEETING COMPLEX PROBLEMS
The role of older people in American life has changed
dramatically in recent decades. For one thing, the number
of Americans 65 and over is more than six times as great
today as it was in 1900 -- compared to less than a 3-fold
increase in the population under 65. In 1900, one out of
every 25 Americans was 65 or over; today one in ten has
reached his 65th birthday.
While the number of older Americans has been growing so
rapidly, their traditional pattern of living has been severely
disrupted. In an earlier era, the typical American family
was multigenerational -- grandparents and even great-
grandparents lived in the same household with their children
and grandchildren, or at least lived nearby. In recent years,
however, the ties of family and of place have been loosened --
with the result that more and more of our older citizens must
live apart or alone. The rapid increase in mandatory retire-
ment provisions has compounded this trend toward isolation.
more
2
Under such conditions, other problems of older persons such
as ill health and low income have become even more burdensome.
And all of these difficulties are intensified, of course, for
members of minority groups and for those who are blind or
deaf or otherwise handicapped.
The sense of separation which has characterized the lives
of many older Americans represents a great tragedy for our
country. In the first place, it denies many older citizens
the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction they deserve for
the contributions they have made throughout their lifetimes.
Secondly, it denies the country the full value of the skills
and insights and moral force which the older generation is
uniquely capable of offering.
The major challenge which confronts us, then, as we
address the problems of older Americans is the new genera-
tion gap which has emerged in this country in recent decades
between those who are over 65 and those who are younger. The
way to bridge this gap, in my judgment, is to stop treating
older Americans as a burden and to start treating them as a
resource. We must fight the many forces which can cause
older persons to feel dependent or isolated and provide
instead continuing opportunities for them to be self-reliant
and involved.
If we can accomplish this goal, our entire Nation will
reap immense benefits. As I put it in my speech to the
White House Conference on Aging,
"
any action which enhances
the dignity of older Americans enhances the dignity of all
Americans, for unless the American dream comes true for our
older generation, it cannot be complete for any generation."
From its very beginnings, this Administration has worked
diligently to achieve this central objective. To assist me
in this effort, I established a special task force on aging
in 1969. In that same year, I elevated the Commissioner on
Aging, John Martin, to the position of Special Assistant to
the President on Aging, the first such position in history.
Later, I created a new Cabinet-level Committee on Aging,
under the leadership of the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare, to ensure that the concerns of the aging were
regularly and thoroughly considered by this Administration
and that our policies to help older persons were effectively
carried out. To provide greater opportunity for older
Americans to express their own concerns and to recommend
new policies, I convened the White House Conference on
Aging -- which met last December and which was proceeded
and followed by many other meetings at the grassroots level.
I asked the Cabinet-level Committee on Aging to place the
recommendations of the Conference at the top of its agenda.
And I also asked the Chairman of the Conference, Arthur
Flemming, to stay on as the first Special Consultant to the
President on Aging, so that the voice of older Americans
GERAAL FORD LIBRARY
would continue to be heard at the very highest levels of the
Government.
One dimension of our efforts over the last three years
is evident when we look at the Federal budget. If our
budget proposals are accepted, overall Federal spending for
the elderly in fiscal year 1973 will be $50 billion, nearly
150 percent of what it was when this Administration took
office. One particularly important example of increased
concern for the elderly is the fact that overall Federal
spending under the Older Americans Act alone has grown from
$32 million in fiscal year 1969 to a proposed $257 million
in fiscal year 1973 -- an eight-fold increase. This figure
includes the $157 million I originally requested in my 1973
budget, plus an additional $100 million which I am requesting
in this message for nutrition and related services.
more
3
How much money we spend on aging programs is only one
part of the story, however. How we spend it is an equally
important question. It is my conviction that the complex,
interwoven problems of older Americans demand, above all
else, a comprehensive response, one which attacks on a
variety of fronts and meets a variety of problems.
This message outlines the comprehensive strategy which
this Administration had developed for bridging the new
generation gap and enhancing the dignity and independence
of older Americans. That strategy has five major elements:
1. Protecting the income position of the elderly;
2. Upgrading the quality of nursing home care;
3. Helping older persons live dignified, independent
lives in their own homes or residences - by
expanding and reforming service programs,
4. Expanding opportunities for older people to
continue their involvement in the life of the
country; and
5. Reorganizing the Federal Government to better
meet the changing needs of older Americans.
A SUMMARY OF MAJOR INITIATIVES
In addition to discussing important actions which have
been taken in the past or are now underway, this message
focuses attention on the following major items of new and
pending business.
l. To protect the income position of older Americans,
The Congress should:
-- enact H.R. 1 as soon as possible, thus providing
older Americans with $5-1/2 billion of additional annual
income. H.R. 1 would increase social security benefits by
5 percent, make social security inflation-proof, increase
widow, widower and delayed retirement benefits, liberalize
earnings tests, and establish a floor under the income of
older Americans for the first time;
-- repeal the requirement that participants in
part B of Medicare must pay a monthly premium which is
scheduled to reach $5.80 this July. This step would make
available to older persons an additional $1.5 billion --
the equivalent of roughly another 4 percent increase in
social security benefits for persons 65 and over;
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
-- strengthen the role played by private pension
plans by providing tax deductions to encourage their expan-
sion, requiring the vesting of pensions, and protecting the
investments which have been made in these funds;
----- enact revenue sharing proposals designed to
provide the opportunity for significant property tax relief;
and
-- enact my proposed consumer protection legisla-
tion which deals with problems which are especially acute
for older citizens.
The Administration will:
-- continue its investigation of alternative
methods for financing public education in such a manner
as to relieve the present heavy reliance on property taxes;
more
4
-- propose major improvements in the military
retirement system, including a one-time recomputation of
retired pay;
- continue the battle against price inflation,
with special emphasis in the health care field;
-- develop a program to foster greater awareness
among older citizens of their legal rights under the Inter-
state Land Sales Full Disclosure Act; and
-- develop a program designed to help each State
create consumer education programs for older citizens.
2. To upgrade the quality of nursing home care,
The Congress should:
---- make it possible for the Federal Government to
assume the entire cost of State inspection of homes receiving
payments under the Medicaid program; and
-- approve my request for additional funds for
training nursing home personnel.
The Administration will:
-- continue to strengthen and expedite other portions
of my 8-point program for upgrading nursing homes, including
my commitment to withdraw Federal funds from those homes
that refuse to meet standards and to make adequate alter-
native arrangements for those who are displaced from sub-
standard homes; and
-- develop proposals for protecting older persons
in the purchase of nursing home services.
3. To help older persons live dignified, independent
lives in their own homes or residences,
The Congress should:
-- appropriate the $100 million I requested for
the Administration on Aging in my 1973 budget;
-- appropriate an additional $100 million for
nutritional and related purposes;
-- appropriate $57 million for other programs under
the Older Americans Act, bringing total spending under this
act to $257 million --- an eight-fold increase over fiscal
year 1969;
-- renew and strengthen the Older Americans Act,
which so many older persons rightly regard as landmark
legislation in the field of aging -- extending it for an
indefinite period rather than for a specified period of
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
years;
-- create a new, coordinated system for service
delivery under this act, so that the Administration on
Aging can help develop goals for such services, while State
and area agencies create specific plans for achieving these
goals; and
-- allow States and localities to use some of the
funds now in the Highway Trust Fund to finance their mass
transit programs, including special programs to help the
elderly.
more
5
The Administration will:
--- ensure that Departments and agencies involved in
the field of aging identify the portion of their total
resources that are available for older persons and ensure
that use of these resources is effectively coordinated all
across the Government;
-- strengthen the role already played by local
officials of the Social Security Administration and other
agencies in providing information about Federal services
to older persons and in receiving their complaints;
-- launch this summer a new Project FIND -- a
program which will enlist the services of Government workers
at the grassroots level in an outreach effort to locate
older persons who are not involved in Federal nutrition
programs and who should be;
-- step up efforts to meet the special transporta-
tion needs of older Americans, giving priority to community
requests for capital grants that aid the elderly from the
Urban Mass Transportation Fund;
-- provide more and better housing for older
Americans by issuing new guidelines for two HUD programs
to make them more readily applicable to the elderly, by
extending the mortgage maturity for the FHA-insured nursing
home program, by drawing upon research of the Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration to reduce crime, by encouraging
the provisions of more space for senior centers within
housing projects for the elderly, and by developing training
programs in the management of housing for older persons.
4. To expand opportunities for older persons to continue
their involvement in the life of our country,
The Congress should:
-- appropriate the funds I have requested for such
action programs as Retired Senior Volunteers and Foster
Grandparents;
-- authorize the ACTION agency to expand person-to-
person volunteer service programs, helping more older
Americans to work both with children and with older persons
who need their help; and
-- broaden the Age Discrimination in Employment
Act of 1967 to include State and local governments.
The Administration will:
GERALD, FORD LIBRARY
-- work with 130 national voluntary groups across
the country in a special program to stimulate volunteer
action; and
-- develop a national program to expand employment
opportunities for persons over 65, through programs such as
Senior Aides and Green Thumb, by urging State and local
governments to make job opportunities available under the
Emergency Employment Act of 1971, by working through the
public employment offices to open part-time job opportunities
in both the public and private sector, and by reaffirming
Federal policy against age discrimination in appointment to
Federal jobs.
5. To improve Federal organization for future efforts,
The Administration will:
-- strengthen the Secretary of Health, Education,
6
and Welfare's Advisory Committee on Older Americans --
providing it with permanent staff capability to support its
increased responsibilities;
-- arrange for the Commissioner of Aging, in his
capacity as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Aging, to
report directly to the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare;
-- create a Technical Advisory Committee on Aging
Research in the Office of the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare to develop a comprehensive plan for economic,
social, psychological, health and education research on
aging.
PROTECTING THE INCOME POSITION OF OLDER AMERICANS
Perhaps the most striking change in the lives of most
Americans when they turn 65 is the sudden loss of earned
income which comes with retirement. The most important
thing we can do to enhance the independence and self-
reliance of older Americans is to help them protect their
income position. I have long been convinced that the best
way to help people in need is not by having Government pro-
vide them with a vast array of bureaucratic services but by
giving them money so that they can secure needed services
for themselves. This understanding is fundamental to my
approach to the problems of the aging.
The success of this income-oriented strategy depends in
turn on giving effective attention to two factors: first,
where older Americans' money comes from and second, what it
is used for.
Where the Money Comes From: Reforming and Expanding
Government Income Programs
The most important income source for most older Americans
is social security. Accordingly, improvements in social
security have been the centerpiece of this Administration's
efforts to assist the elderly. Today, approximately 85
percent of all Americans over 65 receive regular cash
benefits from social security, while 93 percent of those
now reaching age 65 are eligible to receive such benefits
when they or their spouses retire.
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Since 1969, social security cash benefits have been
increased twice --- a fifteen percent increase in January of
1970 and another ten percent increase one year later. These
increases represent a $10 billion annual increase in cash
income for social security beneficiaries. As I suggested,
however, in my 1969 message to the Congress concerning social
security reform, bringing benefit payments up to date alone
is not enough. We must also make sure that benefit payments
stay up to date and that all recipients are treated fairly.
My specific proposals for achieving these ends are
presently contained in the bill known as H.R. 1 -- legislation
which is of overwhelming importance for older Americans.
This bill passed the House of Representatives in the first
session of the 92nd Congress and is presently pending before
the Senate Finance Committee. I continue to believe firmly
that H.R. 1 is the single most significant piece of social
legislation to come before the Congress in many decades.
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Let us consider the several ways in which this legisla-
tion would help the elderly:
1. An Additional Increase in Social Security. Under
H.R. 1, social security benefits would be increased by an
additional 5 percent effective in June of 1972. This
increase would provide $2.1 billion in additional income
for older Americans during the first full year that it is
effective. It would mean that social security benefits
would be one-third higher after this June than they were
just 2-1/2 years ago. This represents the most rapid rate
of increase in the history of the social security program.
2. Making Social Security "Inflation Proof. " Under
H.R. 1, social security payments would, for the first time,
be automatically protected against inflation. Whenever the
Consumer Price Index increased by 3 percent or more, benefits
would be increased by an equal amount. Payments that keep
pace with the cost of living would thus become a guaranteed
right for older Americans --- and not something for which
they have to battle again and again, year after year.
3. Increased Widows' Benefits. About 58 percent of the
population age 65 and over are women, most of whom depend
primarily on social security benefits earned by their
husbands. Under the present law, however, widows are eligible
for only 82-1/2 percent of the retirement benefits which would
be paid to their late husbands if they were still alive.
H.R. 1 would correct this situation by increasing widows'
benefits to 100 percent of the benefits payable to their late
husbands. It would similarly expand the eligibility of a
widower for benefits payable to his late wife. Altogether,
this provision would mean that about 3.4 million widows and
widowers would receive increased benefits totaling almost
three quarters of a billion dollars in the first full year.
4. Increased Benefits for Delayed Retirement. Under
present law, those who choose not to retire at age 65 for-
feit their social security benefits for the period between
the time they are 65 and the time they finally retire.
H.R. 1 would allow retirees to make up a portion of these
lost benefits through higher payments after retirement.
GERALD FORD VIBRARY
Benefits would increase by one percent for each year that
a person had worked between the ages of 65 and 72.
5. Liberalized Earnings Tests. Like the increased
benefit for delayed retirement, the liberalized earnings
tests contained in H.R. 1 would encourage more of our older
citizens to remain active in the economic life of our
country. This is a step which I promised to take in the
1968 campaign and for which I have been working ever since.
It is high time this step was taken. Those who can
work and want to work should not be discouraged from
working -- as they often are under the present law. By
reducing the barriers to work, we can increase the sense
of participation among older citizens and at the same time
tap their energies and experience more effectively.
Under H.R. 1, the amount that a beneficiary could earn
without losing any social security would be increased from
$1,680 a year to $2,000 a year. That ceiling, in turn,
would be automatically increased each time there was a cost
of living benefit increase in social security. In addition,
for those who earn in excess of $2,000, the potential
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reduction in social security payments would also be lessened.
Under the present law, benefits are reduced by $1 for each
$2 of extra earnings, but this rate applies only to the first
$1,200 earned above the exempt amount. Additional earnings
beyond that level now cause benefits to be reduced on a $1
for $1 basis. Under H.R. 1, benefits would be reduced on
a $1 for $2 basis for all earnings above $2,000 -- no matter
how much more a person earned.
6. Adult Assistance Reform. One of the most important
elements of H.R. 1 -- and one of the most under-publicized --
is its provision to place a national floor under the income
of every older American. H.R. 1 would replace the present
Old Age Assistance program with a single, federally-financed
program which would provide a monthly income of $150 for an
individual and $200 for a couple when fully effective.
This program would assist 4.5 million elderly persons
instead of the 2.1 million currently reached. It would
also eliminate the practice of placing liens on homes as a
condition of eligibility. Eligibility for assistance would
be determined on the basis of need without regard to the
income or assets of relatives. Relative-responsibility
rules would not be a part of this new program.
I believe this reform is particularly important since
it channels massive resources -- some $2.8 billion in addi-
tional annual benefits - to those whose needs are greatest.
7. Special Minimum Benefits. H.R. 1 would also provide
special minimum benefits for people who have worked for 15
years or more under social security. The guaranteed minimum
benefit would range from $75 a month for a person who had
worked 15 years under social security to $150 a month for
a person with 30 years of such work experience. At maturity,
this provision would increase overall benefit payments to
$600 million.
H.R. 1: The Need for Prompt Action
In addition to all of these benefits for older people,
H.R. 1 would have enormous benefits for many younger
QERALD FORD LIBRARY
Americans as well. Clearly the passage of this bill is a
matter of the very highest priority. I have made that state-
ment repeatedly since I first proposed this far-reaching
program in 1969. As I make that statement again today, I
do so with the conviction that further delay is absolutely
inexcusable. To delay these reforms by even one more year
would mean a loss for older Americans alone of more than
$5 billion.
It is my profound hope that the Senate will now carry
forward the momentum which has been generated by the passage
of H.R. 1 in the House of Representatives, thus seizing an
historic opportunity -- and meeting an historic obligation.
Where the Money Comes From: Military, Veterans and
Federal Employee Benefits
We are also making significant progress toward improving
the retirement income of career military personnel, veterans
and Federal employees.
1. To improve military benefits, I will soon submit
legislation to the Congress for recomputing retirement pay
on the basis of January 1, 1971 pay scales, thus liberalizing
annuities for current retirees. I will also submit legisla-
tion to. provide -- for the first time -- full annuities for
retired reservists at an earlier age, and to revise benefit
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payments so that retirees receive their full annuities when
they are most needed, at the conventional age of full retire-
ment. I hope these proposals will receive favorable
consideration.
In addition, I support legislation to provide military
retirees with a less expensive survivor annuity plan -- one
which is similar to that now provided to retired civil servants.
2. Benefits for veterans are also improving. Our
efforts to improve both the quality of care and the number
of patients treated in Veterans Administration hospitals will
have a major impact on older veterans, since more than one-
fourth of all VA patients are over 65. The staff to patient
ratio at VA hospitals will be increased to 1.5 to 1, an
all-time high, if our budget proposals are accepted.
The fiscal year 1973 budget also provides for further
increases in nursing home care with the result that the
authorized number of VA-operated nursing beds will have
doubled since 1969 and the number of community contract
beds and State home beds built and operated with VA subsidies
will have increased by one-third over the same period.
In addition, I have signed into law significant improve-
ments in pensions for elderly veterans which relate benefits
more closely to need and protect recipients from income loss
because of increases in the cost of living. In January of
1971, pensions were increased by an average of 9.6 percent.
One year later, they went up an additional 6.5 percent and
a new formula was adopted relating benefits more closely
to need for the first time.
3. Federal Employee Benefits are also up. Retirement
benefits for Federal employees have been liberalized in
several instances, and -- under a more generous formula
for determining cost of living increases -- annuities have
gone up nearly 16 percent in the last 2-1/2 years. In
addition, the Government's contribution to Federal health
benefit premiums of current and retired employees has been
substantially increased.
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Where the Money Comes From: Reforming the Private
Pension System
Only 21 percent of couples now on our social security
rolls and only 8 percent of non-married beneficiaries are
also receiving private pensions. While this picture will
improve somewhat as workers who are now younger reach
retirement, nevertheless -- despite the best efforts of
labor and management -- only half the work force is presently
covered by private pension plans. As the White House
Conference on Aging pointed out, the long-range answer to
adequate income for the elderly does not lie in Government
programs alone; it also requires expansion and reform of
our private pension system.
Late last year, I submitted to the Congress a five-point
program to achieve this goal. It includes the following
items:
1. Tax deductions to encourage independent savings
toward retirement. Individual contributions to group or
individual pension plans should be made tax deductible up
to the level of $1500 per year or 20 percent of earned
income, whichever is less. Individuals should also be
able to defer taxation of investment earnings on these
contributions.
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2. More generous tax deductions for pension contribu-
tions by self-employed persons. The annual limit for
deductible contributions to pension plans by the self-
employed -- on their own behalf and for those who work
for them --- should be raised from $2,500 or 10 percent of
earned income, whichever is less, to the lesser of $7,500
or 15 percent of earned income.
3. Requiring the vesting of pensions. Persons who have
worked for an employer for a significant period should be
able to retain their pension rights even if they leave or
lose their jobs before retirement. Unfortunately, many
workers do not now have this assurance -- their pensions
are not vested. To change this situation, I have proposed
a new law under which all pensions would become vested as
an employee's age and seniority increased. Under this law,
the share of participants in private pension plans with
vested pensions would rise from 31 percent to 47 percent
and the overall number of employees with vested rights
would increase by 3.6 million. Most importantly, among
participants age 45 and older, the percentage with vested
pensions would rise from 60 percent to 92 percent.
4. The Employee Benefits Protection Act. This legisla-
tion was first proposed to the Congress in March of 1970;
it was strengthened and resubmitted in 1971. It would
require that pension funds be administered under strict
fiduciary standards and would provide certain Federal
remedies when they are not. It would also require that
plans provide full information to employees and beneficiaries
concerning their rights and benefits.
5. A study of pension plan terminations. In my
December message, I also directed the Departments of Labor
and the Treasury to undertake a one-year study concerning
the extent of benefit losses which result from the termina-
tion of private pension plans. This study will provide the
information we need in order to make solid recommendations
in this field, providing needed protection without reducing
benefits because of increased costs.
Where the Money Goes: The Burden of Health Costs
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
Growing old often means both declining income and
declining health. And declining health, in turn, means
rising expenditures for health care. Per capita health
expenditures in fiscal year 1971 were $861 for persons 65
and older, but only $250 for persons under 65. In short,
older Americans often find that they must pay their highest
medical bills at the very time in their lives when they are
least able to afford them.
Medicare, of course, is now providing significant assis-
tance in meeting this problem for most older Americans. In
fiscal year 1971, this program accounted for 62 percent of
their expenditures for hospital and physicians services
and 42 percent of their total health payments. In addi-
tion, an estimated 40 percent of Medicaid expenditures go
to support the health costs of the elderly, while other
programs provide significant additional assistance.
But serious problems still remain. Accordingly, this
Administration has been working in a number of ways to
provide even more help for the elderly in the health-care
field. One of our most important proposals is now pending
before the Congress. I refer to the recommendation I made
more than a year ago that the Congress combine part B of
Medicare -- the supplementary medical insurance program,
with part A -- the hospital insurance program, thus
eliminating the special monthly premium which older persons
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must pay to participate in part B --- a premium which will
reach $5.80 per month by July. I have reaffirmed my com-
mitment to this important initiative on other occasions and
today I affirm it once again. Elimination of the premium
payment alone would augment the annual income of the elderly
by approximately $1.5 billion, the equivalent, on the average,
of almost a 4 percent increase in social security for persons
65 and over. I hope the Congress will delay no longer in
approving this important proposal.
Our concern with health costs for older Americans pro-
vides additional reasons for the prompt approval of H.R. 1.
Under that bill:
-- Provision is made for extending Medicare to many of
the disabled (about 60 percent of whom are age 55 and over)
who are drawing social security benefits and who have had
to give up work before reaching regular retirement age;
-- Medicare beneficiaries would have the opportunity to
enroll in Health Maintenance Organizations -- organizations
which I strongly endorsed in my special message on health
policy because of my conviction that they help to prevent
serious illness and also help to make the delivery of health
care more efficient;
-- Provision is made for removing the uncertainties
relative to coverage under Medicare when a person needs to
use extended care facilities after hospitalization.
In my recent message to Congress on health policy, I
indicated a number of other measures which will help reduce
the cost of health care. I spoke, for example, of the
special attention we have been giving under Phase II of
our New Economic Policy to the problem of sky-rocketing
health costs, through the special Health Services Industry
Committee of the Cost of Living Council. I indicated that
a number of cost control features would be introduced into
the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement processes -- with
the overall effect of reducing health costs. I have also
called for new research efforts in fields such as heart
disease, cancer, and accident prevention --- initiatives
which also promise to reduce health problems - and health
bills -- for older persons.
BERALD FORD LIBRARY
Where the Money Goes: Inflation
Inadequate retirement incomes are strained even further
when inflation forces older persons to stretch them to meet
rising costs. Because older persons are uniquely dependent
on relatively fixed incomes, they are uniquely victimized by
the ravages of inflation. While my proposals for making
social security benefits inflation-proof will provide signi-
ficant help in defending the elderly against this menace, it
is also important that we take on this enemy directly --- that
we curb inflationary pressures.
This goal has been a central one of this Administration.
When I came to office this country was suffering from a
massive wave of price inflation -- one which had resulted in
large measure from the methods chosen to finance the Vietnam
War. The problem of reversing this wave by conventional
methods was a more stubborn problem, frankly, than I
expected it to be when I took office. By the summer of
1971, it became clear that additional tools were needed if
inflation was to be quickly and responsibly controlled.
Accordingly, I announced last August a New Economic Policy --
one which has received the strong support of the Congress and
the American people.
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I have been especially gratified that older Americans --
whose stake in the battle against inflation is so high --
have rallied to support this new economic program. With
their continued support - and that of all the American
people -- we can carry this battle forward and win a
decisive victory.
One key element in that battle, of course, is to be sure
that Government spending programs, including those which help
the elderly, are responsibly financed. If they are not, then
inflation will merely be reignited and Government policy will
merely be robbing older Americans with one hand of the aid it
gives them with the other.
Where the Money Goes: Property Taxes
Two-thirds of all older citizens --- and 78 percent of older
married couples --- own their own homes. For these Americans ---
and for many younger Americans as well -- the heavy and growing
burden of property taxes constitutes one of the most serious
of all income-related problems. Even those who rent their
homes often bear an unfair burden since property tax increases
are frequently passed along in the form of higher rents. The
reason these burdens are so onerous, of course, is that the
income from which property taxes must be paid by the elderly
is usually going down at the very time the taxes are going up.
Property taxes in the United States have more than doubled
in the last ten years. The problems which this fact implies
are felt by Americans of all ages. But elderly Americans
have a special stake in their solution.
I am committed to doing all I can to relieve the crushing
burden of property taxes. I have been proceeding toward this
end in two ways. First, I am continuing to push for passage
of our General and Special Revenue-Sharing proposals, legis-
lation which would channel some $17 billion into State and
local budgets and thus provide a significant opportunity for
property tax relief. At the same time, as I indicated in my
recent State of the Union Address, I am also moving to change
the system through which we finance public education. In
developing a new approach, I will draw on the recommendations
of the President's Commission on School Finance, the Advisory
Commission on Inter-governmental Relations, and other analyses
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
such as those which are being performed under the direction
of the Secretaries of the Treasury, and of Health, Education,
and Welfare. The purpose of this intensive investigation is
to develop ways of putting this Nation's educational system
on a sounder financial footing while helping to relieve the
enormous burden of school property taxes.
Reducing Income Tax Burdens
Recently approved and pending changes in the income tax
laws also provide special help to older persons. Under these
provisions, a single person age 65 or over would be able to
receive up to $5,100 of income without paying any Federal
income taxes, while a married couple with both husband and
wife 65 or over would be able to receive up to $8,000 of such
tax-free income.
Where the Money Goes: Protecting Elderly Consumers
The quality of life for older Americans depends to a
large extent upon the responsiveness of the marketplace to
their special needs. It is estimated that elderly persons
now spend over $60 billion for goods and services every
year - and they will be able to spend billions more if
my proposals for increasing their income are enacted. Our
economy should be responsive to the needs of older Americans;
they have a high stake in advancing consumer protection.
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Through organizational changes, administrative actions
and legislative recommendations, this Administration has
been working to provide needed protection for the American
consumer in general and for the older consumer in particular.
The several pieces of consumer legislation which I have sub-
mitted to the Congress are designed to reduce dangers which
are especially acute for older consumers -- and I again urge
their enactment.
In addition, I am asking my Special Assistant for
Consumer Affairs, in cooperation with the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development, to develop a program for
helping to enforce the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure
Act by fostering greater awareness among older citizens of
their legal rights under this legislation.
Recognizing that the complexity of today's marketplace
demands great sophistication by the individual consumer, our
primary and secondary schools have stepped up their programs
for consumer education. Unfortunately, many older Americans
have never had the opportunity to benefit from such programs.
The Office of Consumer Affairs is therefore developing guide-
lines for adult consumer education programs with particular
emphasis on the needs of the elderly. To carry out these
guidelines, I am asking my Special Assistant for Consumer
Affairs, working in cooperation with the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare, to develop a program of technical
assistance to help the States create consumer education
programs specifically designed for older citizens.
A Comprehensive Effort for Improving Income
The key characteristic of my strategy for protecting the
income position of older Americans is its comprehensiveness.
For it would help to augment and protect the income older
persons derive from social security, adult assistance,
Federal military, veterans and civilian benefits, and private
pensions, while at the same time curbing the cruel drain on
those incomes from rising health costs, inflation, taxes
and unwise consumer spending. I hope now that the Congress
will respond promptly and favorably to these proposals. If
it does, then the purchasing power of the elderly can be
enhanced by billions of dollars a year -- an achievement
which could do more than anything else to transform the
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
quality of life for Americans over 65.
UPGRADING THE QUALITY OF NURSING HOME CARE
Income related measures can help more older Americans to
help themselves; they build on the strong desire for indepen=
dence and self-reliance which characterizes the older generation.
We must recognize, however, that some older Americans --
approximately five percent by recent estimates -- cannot be
primarily self-reliant. These older men and women require
the assistance provided by skilled nursing homes and other
long-term care facilities. For them, a dignified existence
depends upon the care and concern which are afforded them in
such settings.
In June of 1971, at a regional convention of the National
Retired Teachers Association and the American Association of
Retired Persons, I pledged to meet the challenge of upgrading
nursing home care in America. I expressed my determination
that nursing homes, for those who need them, should be
shining symbols of comfort and concern. I noted that many
such facilities provide high quality care, but that many
others fall woefully short of this standard. I observed
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that those who must live in such facilities are virtual
prisoners in an atmosphere of neglect and degradation.
Following that speech, I directed the development of an
action plan to improve nursing home care and I announced that
8-point plan in August of 1971. I am pleased to be able to
report that we have made significant progress in carrying
out that plan. We have delivered on all of the eight
promises implied in that program. Let us look at each of
them:
1. Training State Nursing Home Inspectors - Through
February of 1972, almost 450 surveyors had been trained in
federally-sponsored programs at three universities. Contract
negotiations are underway to continue ongoing programs and to
establish new ones at two university training centers.
2. Complete Federal Support of State Inspections Under
Medicaid - Legislation to raise the level of financial parti-
cipation by the Federal Government in this activity to 100
percent was submitted to the Congress on October 7, 1971, as
an amendment to H.R. 1. This proposal is awaiting Congressional
action.
3. Consolidation of Enforcement Activities - A new Office
of Nursing Home Affairs has been established in the Office of
the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. This unit is
directly responsible for coordinating all efforts to meet our
July 1, 1972, deadline for inspections of skilled nursing
homes and for certification of these facilities in accordance
with proper procedures.
4. Strengthening Federal Enforcement - 142 new positions
have been allocated to the Medical Services Administration to
enforce Medicaid standards and regulations. Added emphasis
is being placed on the audit process as a tool for enforce-
ment; 34 additional positions are being added in HEW's Audit
Agency to perform audits of nursing home operations.
5. Short-term Training for Professional and Para-
professional Nursing Home Personnel - This program is cur-
rently funded at the $2.4 million level and is scheduled to
train 20,000 persons. The fiscal year 1973 budget which I
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submitted to the Congress contains $3 million to train an
additional 21,000 persons.
6. Assistance for State Investigative Units - A program
to develop and test investigative-ombudsman units to respond
to individual complaints and to other problems in the nursing
home area has also been initiated. As an interim mechanism,
nearly 900 social security district and branch offices have
been designated as listening posts to receive and investigate
complaints and suggestions about nursing home conditions.
7. Comprehensive Review of Long-term Care The Office of
Nursing Home Affairs is now carrying out a comprehensive analysis
of issues related to long-term care.
8. Cracking Down on Substandard Nursing Homes - Progress
is also being made on this important front. Last December
I signed legislation which, among other things, authorizes
Federal quality standards for intermediate care facilities,
thus giving us additional authority to guarantee a decent
environment for those who live in long-term care facilities.
Every State providing nursing home care under the Medicare
and Medicaid programs has now installed systems for surveying
and certifying nursing homes. In the area of fire-safety and
other safety guidelines, a coordinated set of standards for
homes providing care under these programs is being put into
effect.
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Medicaid compliance activities have also been stepped up.
Onsite Federal reviews of State Medicaid certification pro-
cedures have been carried out. Deficiencies in those procedures
were found in 39 States. These deficiencies were publicly
announced by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
on November 30, 1971, along with a timetable for correcting
them. Since that time, 38 of the 39 States have made the
necessary corrections. We have determined that every facility
receiving Medicaid funds must have been inspected and cor-
rectly certified by July 1, 1972.
While we prefer to upgrade substandard homes rather than
shut them down, we will not hesitate to cut off money when
that is necessary. As of February 11, 1972, in fact, 13
extended care facilities had been decertified for participa-
tion in Medicare. In such cases, as I have often pledged
before, we are firmly committed to seeing that adequate
alternative arrangements are made for those who are displaced.
In fiscal year 1971, the Federal Government contributed
$1.2 billion to the cost of nursing home care. We should
also remember, however, that more than 40 percent of the
annual expenditure for nursing homes is borne by private
sources. In addition to seeing that Federal tax dollars
are properly spent in this area, it is also important that
private individuals are protected when they purchase nursing
home services. I have asked the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare to develop proposals to deal with
this dimension of the nursing home challenge.
SPECIAL SERVICES TO FOSTER INDEPENDENCE
Improving the income position of older Americans and
upgrading nursing homes --- these are two concerns which
have been of highest priority for this Administration in
the past and which will continue to be central in the future.
As we work to develop a truly comprehensive strategy, however,
other agenda items have also been emerging as areas of special
emphasis, particularly those involving public and private
services which can help older persons live dignified, inde-
pendent lives in their own homes for as long as possible.
BERALD FORD LIBRARY
Increased Resources for the Administration on Aging
Since the passage of the Older Americans Act in 1965,
the Administration on Aging has had the lead Federal role
in developing and coordinating such services. While that
office has accomplished many significant things, the im-
portance and urgency of its mission have outstripped its
financial resources.
It was to help remedy this situation that I announced at
the White House Conference on Aging last December that I would
call for a five-fold increase in the budget of the Administra-
tion on Aging -- from $21 million to $100 million. As I will
discuss below in greater detail, I am now requesting an
additional $100 million for nutritional and related purposes,
money which would also be spent through the Administration on
Aging.
With this substantial increase in funds, we would be able
to step up significantly our efforts to develop and coordinate
a wide range of social and nutritional services for older
Americans. Our central aim in all of these activities will
be to prevent unnecessary institutionalization -- and to
lessen the isolation of the elderly wherever possible.
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Extending the Older Americans Act
Since its passage in 1965, the Older Americans Act has
served as an important charter for Federal service programs
for the elderly. Unless the act is promptly extended, however,
the grant programs it authorizes will expire on June 30th.
This must not happen. I therefore urge that this landmark
legislation be extended -- and that the extension be indefinite,
rather than limited to a specific period of time.
Strengthening the Planning and Delivery of Services
In addition, I am asking that the Older Americans Act be
amended to strengthen our planning and delivery systems for
services to the elderly. Too often in the past, these
"systems" have really been "non-systems," badly fragmented,
poorly planned and insufficiently coordinated. My proposed
amendments are designed to remedy these deficiencies.
We should begin by helping to develop and strengthen
the planning capacities of the State agencies on aging and
of new area agencies on aging which would be established
within each State. Up to 75 percent of the administrative
costs of these new area planning agencies would be funded by
the Administration on Aging, which would also establish
general goals to which activities at the State and local
levels would be directed. One of the major priorities would
be to enhance and maintain the independence of older citizens.
The State and area planning agencies would plan for the
mobilization and coordination of a wide range of resources --
public and private -- to meet such goals. The Administration
on Aging would be authorized to fund up to 90 percent of the
cost of social and nutritional services provided under plans
developed by the area planning agencies. In fiscal year 1973,
$160 million would be allocated in formula grants for nutritional
and social services. An additional $40 million would be allocated
in special project assistance to develop new and innovative
approaches and to strengthen particularly promising area plans.
By establishing overall objectives and by providing both
money and mechanisms for a stronger planning and coordination
effort, we can ensure that resources and energies which are
now widely scattered and fragmented can be pulled together in
ways which will notably increase their impact.
Coordinating Federal Efforts
Even as we strengthen coordination at grassroots levels,
GERALD FORD VIREARY
so we must do a better job of coordinating Federal programs.
As this message makes clear, efforts are being made all across
our Government to help older citizens. But if there was one
clear message at the White House Conference on Aging, it was
that this wide range of Federal resources must be better
coordinated. To help achieve this important objective, I
have directed my Special Consultant on Aging to work with
all these agencies in an intense new effort to develop
coordinated services.
As the first step in this effort, I have directed those
agencies whose programs have a major impact on the lives of
older persons to provide the Cabinet-level Committee on Aging,
within sixty days, with the amounts they identify as serving
the needs of the elderly. In addition, I am directing that
each agency identify, within the total amount it expects to
spend for its aging programs, a sum that will be available to
the States and localities for purposes related to the Older
Americans Act. The Administration on Aging will then provide
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this information to the States so that it can be utilized in
the State and local planning process. State aging agencies
will also be able to transmit their views on proposed Federal
programs, thereby furthering the interchange of information
and strengthening overall coordination.
Under these procedures, we can ensure that all resources
for helping the elderly are fully marshalled and coordinated,
in a way which is responsive to the special needs of every
State and locality in our land.
Establishing Information and Complaint Centers
We must also work to improve communications between the
Federal Government and older Americans and to alert the Govern-
ment to areas of special need. Because older persons often
have some difficulty moving about conveniently, and because
services are often fragmented and channeled through complex
bureaucratic mechanisms, it is especially important that the
elderly have one place to turn where they can obtain needed
information and let their views be heard.
As I have already noted, we have been moving in this
direction under my program to upgrade the quality of nursing
home care. Following the directive which I announced at the
White House Conference on Aging, Social Security offices have
also been expanding their information and referral services for
the elderly. District and branch offices are now handling more
than 200,000 such inquiries each month - and that number is
expected to increase. A task force is now at work within the
Social Security Administration to examine ways of improving
this service.
As another step in this direction, I have directed the
Cabinet-level Committee on Aging to examine ways in which we
.can use other Government offices -- such as the General
Services Administration's Federal Information Centers and
the Agricultural Extension Service's local offices -- in further
expanding and improving our information and complaint services.
Fighting Hunger and Malnutrition
In addition to our overall funding and coordination
proposals concerning Federal services, we are also moving
ahead in a variety of specific service areas. One of the
most important is the fight against hunger and malnutrition
among the elderly.
The thought that any older citizens --- after a lifetime
of service to their communities and country -- may suffer
from hunger or malnutrition is intolerable. Happily, since
I submitted my message on hunger and nutrition to the
Congress in May of 1969, we have made significant strides
toward eliminating this problem among all age groups in
America. Our efforts to increase incomes have been central
to this endeavor, of course. But our special food
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assistance programs have also been substantially augmented.
If my budget proposals for fiscal year 1973 are accepted,
overall spending for food stamps will have increased nine-
fold since 1969. In the coming fiscal year, an estimated
2 million elderly participants in the Food Stamp Program
will receive benefits of $343.5 million, compared with only
$45.8 million in fiscal year 1969. Virtually every county
in the Nation now offers either the Food Stamp or the Food
Distribution Program; in early 1969, nearly 500 counties
offered neither. In all, 2.5 million older Americans benefit
from at least one of these programs.
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Food assistance is important to the elderly. They
benefit not only from nutritious food but also from the
activity of preparing meals and sharing mealtimes with
others. To maximize these benefits, the Department of
Agriculture in January revised its regulations to improve
the nutrition program and expand participation.
But more needs to be done. Many older persons who are
entitled to food stamps or to surplus commodities are still
not receiving them. Why is this the case? In many instances,
older Americans do not realize they are eligible for partici-
pation. The agencies which provide assistance are often unaware
of older persons who need their services. Some older persons
choose not to participate -- out of pride or out of fear that
accepting food assistance may subject them to the arbitrary
treatment they associate with the present welfare system.
In some cases, older persons want to participate but find
that necessary transportation is unavailable.
To overcome the barriers which keep older Americans
from full participation in food assistance programs, we
are launching this year a major outreach campaign called
Project FIND. This campaign will be conducted through
a senior citizen awareness network made up of federally
operated or funded field offices and outreach workers.
It is my hope that Federally-supported personnel will be
augmented in this effort by volunteers from State local
government offices and from the private sector. For ninety
days, all these workers will go out across our country to
find those who should be participating in nutrition programs
but who are not yet involved.
Last night, I signed into law S. 1163, a new national
nutrition program for the elderly. This program will
provide prepared meals in a group setting and delivered
meals for those who are confined to their homes. I welcome
this effort. Because of my strong feeling that this area
should be one of priority action, I will submit to the
Congress -- as I suggested above --- an amendment to my
1973 budget to provide an additional $100 million for
nutritional and related services. My proposed amendments to
the Older Americans Act would further strengthen this effort
by ensuring that the Food Stamp Program is planned as part
of a more comprehensive service effort.
Other steps will also be taken in this area. In some
areas, for example, space at federally-assisted housing
projects will be utilized for feeding older persons. The
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support of State and local governments, of civic and
religious organizations and of the food services industry
will also be solicited. Maximum use will be made of existing
technical resources, including skilled personnel who have
worked with the school lunch program and other special
programs of the Department of Agriculture. The time has
come for marshalling all of our resources in a comprehensive
campaign to meet the nutrition needs of older Americans.
Providing Better Transportation for the Elderly
For many older Americans, lack of mobility means poor
access to friends and relatives, to government services and
to meaningful participation in the community. Unless we
meet the challenge of providing better transportation for
older persons, our efforts in other fields will not be as
effective as they should be. This is why I told the delegates
to the White House Conference on Aging that I would, by
administrative action, require that Federal grants which
provide services for older persons also ensure that the
transportation needed to take advantage of these services
is available.
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In addition, the Department of Transportation is sig-
nificantly increasing its program for developing new ways
to meet the public transportation needs of older persons.
The approaches which are being tested include special new
transportation services to take elderly citizens from
housing projects and other residential areas to hospitals,
senior citizen centers, social service agencies, employment
opportunities and the like; and demand-responsive services
whereby the elderly are picked up at their doorsteps and
taken to specific desired destinations.
Once new ways have been developed for meeting the
transportation needs of the elderly, we must also make
them generally available. One proposal which could help
significantly in this effort is the recommendation recently
submitted to the Congress by the Secretary of Transportation
under which some of the funds now in the Highway Trust
Fund could be used by States and localities to augment
resources in the mass transportation area.
I hope the Congress will give prompt approval to this
important plan. The flexibility it provides would allow
State and local officials - who know best the transportation
needs of the elderly within their own jurisdictions - to
give special consideration to meeting those needs. I am
asking the Secretary of Transportation to develop specific
suggestions for assisting the States and localities in these
undertakings.
In addition, the Department of Transportation is ready
to give priority attention to community requests for helping
older Americans through capital grants from the Urban Mass
Transportation Fund and is willing to commit significant
resources to this end. I urge the States and localities
to move immediately to take advantage of these resources.
Meeting the Housing Needs of Older Citizens
This Administration has also worked hard to respond to the
very special housing needs of older Americans. It is expected,
for example, that an all-time record in producing subsidized
and insured housing and nursing homes for the elderly will
be achieved this year by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development. In the current fiscal year, nearly
66,000 units of subsidized housing for the elderly will be
funded under HUD's housing assistance programs --- a figure
which should rise to over 82,000 in fiscal year 1973. In
addition, accommodations for over 14,000 people, mostly
elderly, will be provided this fiscal year under HUD's
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nursing and intermediate care facility programs -- and
nearly 18,000 such accommodations will be provided next
year. Finally, a large number of elderly citizens will
benefit from other housing funded by this year's record
number of nearly 600,000 subsidized housing unit reserva-
tions. Clearly, we are making substantial progress in
this important area.
A number of other administrative steps have also been
taken to ensure that this new housing is responsive to the
special needs of the elderly. For example, Secretary Romney
recently announced new guidelines for the Section 236 sub-
sidized rental program for lower income elderly tenants.
These guidelines will help ensure greater variety in
building types, including highrise structures, and more
flexibility in their locations. As a result of these guide-
lines, older persons will find such housing arrangements
even better suited to their particular needs.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has also
issued initial guidelines for the new Section 106 (a) program
which will provide technical assistance to non-profit
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sponsors of low and moderate income housing --- including
housing which is specially designed for the elderly.
In addition, the Department will extend the mortgage
maturity for its Federal Housing Administration insured
nursing home program up to a maximum of 40 years. This
decision will not only reduce monthly occupancy charges to
patients, but it will also enable sponsors of residential
housing to "package" residential and nursing home complexes
more easily. The proximity of these facilities will permit
elderly persons temporarily to vacate their residential
units for short term nursing care ---- and at the same time
remain close to family, friends, and the environment to
which they are accustomed.
I have also directed the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development to work with the Administration on Aging in
developing training programs dealing with the management
of housing for the elderly.
The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration has
undertaken an intensive research effort to determine factors
which encourage or inhibit crime in residential settings and
to develop total security systems to reduce crime in housing
projects. The Department of Housing and Urban Development
plans to use the results of this effort in its housing
programs. I have also made grant funds available through
the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration for reducing
crime in areas housing older persons. Already, in two cities,
funds have been granted specifically for this purpose.
Crime is an especially serious problem for our older
citizens. Through these and other measures, we will continue
our strong effort to meet this challenge.
Two years ago my task force on aging observed that "older
persons would make greater use of many of the services society
intends them to receive if these services were made more
accessible to them. One reason that the number of senior
centers has increased so fast is because centers facilitate
the packaging, marketing, and delivery of services.' The task
force also noted that, "although the number of senior centers
has rapidly grown in recent years, centers are still too
limited in number to reach more than a fraction of the older
population." In my judgement, a natural location for a
senior center is a housing facility occupied primarily by
older persons.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development administers
two housing programs under which such facilities can be made
available to older persons living in the project and in the
surrounding neighborhood: the Section 236 Program and the
Public Housing Program. Both of these programs provide
specially designed housing for lower income older persons.
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The law under which these programs are administered contains
language which allows the financing of facilities designed
primarily for use by older persons including "cafeteria or
dining halls, community rooms, workshops, infirmaries
and other essential service facilities."
To increase the supply of well located senior centers,
I have instructed the Department of Housing and Urban
Development to encourage greater provision of community
space for senior centers within subsidized housing projects
for the elderly. The Department will consider the com-
munity's overall need for these centers in determining the
appropriate scale of centers within such housing projects.
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On other fronts, the Farmers Home Administration in the
Department of Agriculture is taking steps to meet the housing
needs of elderly persons who live in rural areas. Under the
Section 502 program, for example, thousands of elderly families
have received millions of dollars in loans for home ownership
and repair. The Section 515 program, which provides favorable
interest loans with repayment periods of up to 50 years to
stimulate the development of rental housing in rural areas,
has also moved forward. Rental units financed under this
program have tripled from 1969 to 1973.
EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVOLVEMENT
It is important that we give sufficient attention to the
things our Nation should be doing for older Americans. But it
is just as important that we remember how much older Americans
can do for their Nation. For above all else, what our older
citizens want from their country is a chance to be a part of
it, a chance to be involved, a chance to contribute.
I am determined that they will have that chance. For as I
told the White House Conference, "we cannot be at our best if
we keep our most experienced players on the bench. il This
Administration is deeply committed to involving older citizens
as actively as possible in the life of our Nation --- by enhancing
their opportunities both for voluntary service and for regular
employment.
Improving Voluntary Service Programs
Voluntary social action has long been recognized as one of
the great distinguishing characteristics of America, a force
which has helped to unite and focus our diverse people in the
pursuit of common goals. And even as the voluntary spirit has
helped our country move forward more effectively, it has also
provided those who have volunteered for service with a greater
sense of fulfillment.
The voluntary spirit is particularly relevant to the lives
of older Americans. The White House Conference on Aging, for
example, called attention to "ways in which older Americans
could fulfill themselves by giving service to one another and
to their communities. If Delegates to the Conference called for
"a national policy . to encourage older adults to volunteer,"
and urged "that existing national older adult voluntary pro-
grams should be expanded and funded at adequate levels in
order to serve extensive numbers of volunteers." They urged
a mobilization of public and private organizations to strengthen
the volunteer movement.
I agree completely with these judgments. That is why, at
the time of the White House Conference, I pledged to move suc-
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cessful voluntary programs from demonstration status to full
operation on the national level, an expansion effort that is
rapidly moving forward.
I requested, for example, that the Foster Grandparent
program be doubled to $25 million, providing for 11,500 foster
grandparents to serve 23,000 children each day -- 50,000 children
in all each year -- in some 450 child care institutions through-
out the country. I also asked that ACTION's Retired Senior
Volunteer Program (RSVP) be tripled to $15 million so that
as many as 75,000 senior volunteers could be involved in
community services.
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When the RSVP program has developed to the full extent
permitted by the new appropriations, as many as 11,000
volunteers will be serving older persons in nursing homes and
other extended care facilities, bringing companionship and
personal assistance to some 45,000 residents who might other-
wise be lonely and isolated. At the same time, as many as
13,000 part-time RSVP volunteers will be serving as homemaker
and health aids, enabling thousands of older persons to con-
tinue to live in their own homes. By.using senior volunteers in
a variety of programs, we can foster that human contact which
brightens the lives both of those who are served and those
who volunteer.
But other new steps are also needed in this area.
As one such step, the Congress should enact legislation
which would enable the ACTION agency to expand person-to-
person volunteer service programs for older Americans. These
efforts would build on the successful experience of the
Foster Grandparent program. One important characteristic
of such programs is that so much good can be accomplished,
so many people helped, for a relatively small dollar invest-
ment. It would indeed be tragic if we did not capitalize
on this opportunity.
Measures are also needed to improve coordination among
the many Federal and non-Federal volunteer activities which
affect the aging. As one important step in this direction,
the Administration on Aging and the National Center for
Voluntary Action have enlisted the cooperation of 130
national voluntary organizations in a program to help older
men and women in 300 communities live dignified lives in
the familiar settings of their own homes. Too often, older
Americans are displaced from such settings simply because
small problems such as simple home repairs, shopping and
trips to obtain health care have become too difficult. And
yet, with only minimal assistance from volunteers, these
problems could easily be met.
I have directed the ACTION agency to work in every possible
way to help provide such assistance. Already, the RSVP program
is moving forward in this area. I am confident that other
ACTION program volunteers can also make a major impact in
this field. It is my hope, too, that communities will
consider the elderly residents of federally assisted housing
projects as a source of volunteer manpower for serving other
older persons.
As we move ahead with this entire program, we should take
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encouragement from successes of the past. One which is
particularly noteworthy is the program in Mount Vernon and
Edmunds, Washington, where local citizens have designed a
unique bridge across the generation gap called STEP -- Service
To Elderly Persons. Under this program, volunteers from the
local high schools have undertaken, on a regular basis, to
assist elderly persons in performing small tasks, while at
the same time providing them with companionship and renewed
hope. Everyone gains from a program of this sort. If leaders
at every level are alert to such possibilities, our progress
can be enormous.
Often in quiet ways, the people of the United States
have been responding to the challenges of our society with
compassion and resourcefulness. Now it is for those of us
who have the responsibility for national leadership to
provide the Federal assistance which can help such voluntary
efforts go even further and accomplish even more.
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Employment Opportunities for Older Citizens
Discrimination based on age - what some people call
"age-ism" -- can be as great an evil in our society as
discrimination based on race or religion or any other
characteristic which ignores a person's unique status as
an individual and treats him or her as a member of some
arbitrarily-defined group. Especially in the employment
field, discrimination based on age is cruel and self-
defeating; it destroys the spirit of those who want to
work and it denies the Nation the contribution they could
make if they were working.
We are responding to this problem in a number of ways.
The Department of Labor, for example, has filed over 80 suits
under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 --
30 of which have been successfully concluded. I will soon
propose to the Congress that this act be broadened to include
what is perhaps the fastest growing area of employment in our
economy --- the State and local governments. I will also
send a directive to the heads of all Federal departments and
agencies reaffirming and emphasizing our policy that age
shall be no bar to a Federal job which an individual is
otherwise qualified to perform.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act relates to persons
between the ages of 45 and 65. I recognize that persons
falling within this age group are confronted with special
problems in the employment area and that we should do every-
thing we can to resolve these problems. It is also important,
however, that we help open employment opportunities for
persons over 65. To this end, I have requested the Secretary
of Labor to urge the States and local communities to include
older persons in the opportunities provided by the Emergency
Employment Act of 1971, and to work with our public employment
offices so that they will be in a position to help open job
opportunities for the over 65 group, including opportunities
for part-time employment in both the public and private sectors.
I also asked last fall that funds be doubled for special
Operation Mainstream projects for low-income older workers --
such as Green Thumb and Senior Aides. This measure can mean
that as many as 10,000 older persons will be employed in
activities that provide useful community service.
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ORGANIZING FOR FUTURE ACTION
One of the important concerns of the White House Conference
on Aging was the way in which the Government is organized to
deal with the problems of older Americans. It was because I
share this concern that I established my original task force
on aging, appointed the first Special Assistant to the
President on Aging and the first Special Consultant to the
President on Aging, set up a new Cabinet-level Committee on
Aging and called the White House Conference.
In a similar manner, the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare has taken steps to ensure that the voice of
older Americans speaks loud and clear within that Department.
He has informed me that he will strengthen the Department's
Advisory Committee on Older Americans and provide it with
staff capability to support its increased responsibilities.
The Commissioner of Aging, in his capacity as Chairman of the
Advisory Committee, will report directly to the Secretary.
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Another important organizational concern involves
Government research activities which concern the process and
problems of aging. It is important that the same scientific
resources which have helped more people live longer lives
now be applied to the challenge of making those lives full
and rewarding for more Americans. Only through a wise invest-
ment in research now, can we be sure that our medical triumphs
of the past will not lead to social tragedies in the future.
What we need is a comprehensive, coordinated research
program, one which includes disciplines ranging from biomedical
research to transportation systems analysis, from psychology
and sociology to management science and economics. To co-
ordinate the development of such a program, a new Technical
Advisory Committee for Aging Research will be created in the
office of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
A GENERATION NO LONGER FORGOTTEN
We all grow old; the younger generation today will be the
older generation tomorrow. As we address the needs of older
Americans, therefore, we are truly acting in the best interest
of all Americans. The actions and proposals which have been
outlined in this message are designed to address those needs
and meet those interests.
When I spoke about the problems of the elderly back in
1968, I described our older citizens as "an entire generation
of forgotten Americans. 11 But since that time, as this message
clearly demonstrates, that situation has sharply changed.
Today, it can truly be said that at all levels of Government
and in all parts of the country, "the aging have come of age."
Much work still remains, to be sure, but we can conclude with
assurance that the aging are forgotten no longer.
Just before the First World War, one of the brilliant young
writers of that day penned a line which has since become a
hallmark of the period: "It is the glory of the present age,"
he wrote, "that in it one can be young. "
Since that time, the generation of which he wrote has
come through a troubled and challenging time through two
World Wars and a Great Depression, through the difficult
experiences of Korea and Vietnam. The members of that same
generation have led this country through a time of social and
economic change unparalleled in world history. And they have
come through all of these challenges "with colors flying."
Because of their success, we now have the opportunity to
complete their quest for peace and justice at home and
around the world.
At such a moment, one obligation should be very high
on our list of priorities: our obligation to this older
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generation. Let us work to make ours a time of which it
can be said, "the glory of the present age is that in it
men and women can grow old" -- and can do so with grace
and pride and dignity, honored and useful citizens of
the land they did so much to build.
RICHARD NIXON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 23, 1972.
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