September 23, 2021, Washington, DC—As Congress works to complete the Build Back Better reconciliation bill, a top aging services organization sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, thanking her for her leadership and urging Congress to finish what they started and provide overdue funding to help millions of older Americans and people with disabilities and their families.

Aging services providers are calling for lawmakers to reach a final reconciliation bill that would provide historic, long-overdue investments in caregiving for older adults.

“The clock is ticking for millions of older adults and their families. They can’t take a strategic pause from COVID or life-threatening shortages of care and shelter. Anything less than full support would be unconscionable,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, which represents more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations.

“We’re counting on every Member of Congress to provide the support that so many older adults need to eat, bathe, and take their medicine, or avoid lingering on affordable housing waiting lists that last years. Our leaders must deliver the essential care and services that allow all older adults to grow older with health, safety and dignity,” Sloan added.

In a letter to Speaker Pelosi and other House leaders, Sloan wrote that, “Older adults and aging services providers are desperate for these investments,” adding that the relief measures “cannot come soon enough.”

The letter details LeadingAge’s calls to support direct care and affordable housing investments for older Americans, along with support for families who often sacrifice their own livelihoods to care for older loved ones.

The Vast Majority of Americans Support Investments in Older Americans:

According to a recent LeadingAge survey:

• 91% of Americans believe older Americans should have the support and resources they need to lead a fulfilling life.
• 89% of Americans support public investment in affordable home care services to help older adults.
• 86% of Americans believe the government must make a bigger investment in services and care for seniors.
• 83% of Americans believe elected officials have failed older adults and the people who care for them by ignoring and underfunding America’s aging services for decades

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.