October 22, 2021, Washington, DC—As Congress moves closer to a reconciliation deal, a new data analysis “The Invisible Americans,” shows that less than six percent of media stories and less than one percent of Congressional tweets about the Build Back Better plan even mentioned older adults.

The analysis shows that older Americans are yet again missing from policy makers’ debates and media coverage shaping critical policies affecting the growing number of older adults and families who care for them.

“When older Americans were treated as invisible during COVID, the effects were catastrophic,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, the association representing more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers, which produced the analysis. “We cannot let them be invisible again.”

“The Invisible Americans,” the associations’ data analysis, showed that a small percent of media stories and fewer than one percent of Congressional tweets about the Build Back Better plan even mentioned older adults.

“The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on older adults during the past two years shed light on the longstanding critical gaps in the services and care older adults need. Yet the significant measures proposed to fill those voids may now be on the chopping block because older Americans are invisible in the national debate,” Sloan added.

Remarkably few mentions have been made of older adults in media coverage and Congressional communications from March 31-October 20, 2021:

• 5.85% of media coverage of Build Back Better included older Americans

• 1.21% of press releases from Congress included older Americans in the context of Build Back Better.

• 0.05% of tweets from Members of Congress included older Americans in the context of Build Back Better.

• 5.8% of Members of Congress have included older Americans in the context of Build Back Better on the floor of the House and Senate.

“It’s time for the media and every Member of Congress to acknowledge the grave threats facing 54 million older adults and their families,” said Sloan. “We’re grateful for all our allies on the Hill, but there are far too few—especially when Build Back Better proposals that help older Americans and their families earn overwhelming bipartisan support.”

Last week Sloan sent a letter to Congress on behalf of the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations—a coalition of major national nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of America’s older population. In a separate series of letters to Congressional and White House negotiators, Sloan wrote that “now is precisely the wrong time to remove key programs and supports for older adults from the package.”

We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.