TEMPLATE LANGUAGE FOR REP/SENATE OUTREACH

December XX, 2017

Honorable [REP/SEN NAME]

[U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Senate]

[Office Address]

Washington, DC

Dear [Representative/Senator NAME]:

On behalf of [YOUR AGENCY NAME] in [AGENCY LOCATION/STATE], we are writing in response to the FY 2018 federal funding bills for Older Americans Act (OAA) and other aging programs that passed the full House and secured full Appropriations Committee approval in the Senate several months ago.

We encourage lawmakers to work toward achieving a bipartisan, full-year funding bill compromise as soon as possible, especially given the fact that the current continuing resolution expires on December 8. We hope that Congress simultaneously approves a bipartisan compromise to raise the funding caps for discretionary programs above current law.

Specifically, we urge you to adopt a funding bill compromise that reflects the House-passed increase for OAA Title III B Supportive Services and adopts the Senate-proposed levels for essential Medicare counseling, senior workforce development and elder justice programs. Funding for these services is critical to the health and independence of millions of older adults and caregivers, including [ADD LOCAL STATISTIC]of the older adults and caregivers that [YOUR AGENCY NAME] serves locally.

We hope you support the following requests as a final FY 2018 funding bill moves forward, and will reach out to your [HOUSE/SENATE] colleagues who are working toward a final funding compromise:

  • Maintain the House-passed $14.2 million increase for OAA Title III B Supportive Services and pass a final funding level for Title III B of $364.2 million.
  • Adoptthe Senate-proposed level for the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) ($47.1 million), the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)($400 million) and Elder Justice programs ($10 million), which were all subject to cuts or elimination in the House-passed funding bill.
  • Work to incorporate additional increases for OAA programs to, at a minimum, meet the funding levels included in the unanimously approved 2016 Older Americans Act reauthorization bill.

At [AGENCY NAME] we are committed to ensuring that every year [XXX NUMBER] of older adults and caregivers in [DISTRICT/COMMUNITY] —who are your constituents—are supported as they age with dignity, independence and health in their homes and communities. In [COMMUNITY] these programs are critical federal programs that help older adults live independently at home and in the community, get one-on-one help understanding their Medicare and other benefits, find jobs to make ends meet, and avoid abuse and exploitation.

For example, OAA Title III B Supportive Services programs…[INSERT LOCAL EXAMPLES OF HOW TITLE III B SUPPORTS OLDER ADULTS—INCLUDE LOCAL DATA IF POSSIBLE ABOUT THE VALUE OF III B SUPPORTS]. The House-passed increase for III B represents the first such increase for these programs in nearly a decade, and we hope you will express your support for funding III B at the full House-passed level of $364.4 million in a final funding bill. More information about how OAA Title III B Supportive Services programs help older adults and caregivers across the country is available in this brief one-pager from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

In [COMMUNITY] Medicare counseling services provided through the federal State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or [INSERT LOCAL/STATE NAME FOR SHIP] assist [NUMBER] local seniors, many of who are often economically vulnerable, each year. [INSERT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW SHIP HELPS IN YOUR AREA/STATE…FOR EXAMPLE…Our agency administers the local SHIP program that provides free, unbiased and individual counseling on Medicare plans to XX NUMBER of seniors every year. We help seniors in XYZ COMMUNITY save $XXX and find the best Medicare options for them. These services cannot be done by other federal resources such as 1-800-Medicare, and without SHIP in XYZ COMMUNITY, many seniors on limited incomes could spend more for a Medicare plan that doesn’t meet their needs.]We hope you will encourage your colleagues to adopt, at a minimum, the Senate-proposed funding level of $47.1 million for SHIP programs in the final funding bill.

[IF YOU HAVE SPACE AND CAN SPEAK TO THE VALUE OF SCSEP AND ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE EFFORTS LOCALLY, ALSO INCLUDE SOME INFORMATION ON THOSE. PRIORITIZE THE TITLE III B AND SHIP REQUESTS, THOUGH.]

In the four years of the Administration, nearly 15 million people will turn age 65. By 2030, 73 million—or one in five—people in America will be 65 or older. [INSERT ANY COMPELLING STATISTICS YOU HAVE ABOUT AGING TRENDS IN YOUR COMMUNITY]. With more Americans living longer, we should be investing in key Older Americans Act and other aging programs that keep seniors healthy and independent in their homes and communities, not cutting them!

As Congress works to develop final funding bills for FY 2018, it is essential that lawmakers recognize and make wise federal investments in programs that keep older adults in their homes and communities and that support caregivers. In the interest of the seniors that we serve and that you represent in [DISTRICT/STATE], we hope you will support, and urge your colleagues to support these key requests for critical OAA and other aging programs.

Please feel free to reach out anytime to [INSERT CONTACT INFORMATION], on these or any aging issues of importance to you and your constituents.

Sincerely,

[NAME]