November 19, 2021, Washington, DC—Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, issued the following statement in response to today’s passage of the Build Back Better package in the House of Representatives:

“Today’s vote is a major step forward for millions of older Americans who are holding their breath, stuck on waiting lists to rent a place they can afford, and unable to get the home health and other help they and their families need. It’s also an overdue step toward alleviating workforce shortages that are denying critical services and support to millions of older adults.

“Support for home and community-based services and affordable senior housing programs in the Build Back Better legislation can fundamentally transform how people grow old in this country. These are critically needed resources—especially investments in workforce—that will immediately help alleviate current shortages and scarcity across aging services.

“The Senate’s job is clear: to adopt these investments without shaving off one dollar, and indeed to increase them—by at least doubling support for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program for very low income older adults. Waiting lists for affordable housing are growing. Without a safe place to live, older adults won’t be able to access the community-based care and services the legislation provides.

“The stakes could not be higher for older adults and their families who are in dire need of help now. Our futures rest in Congress’s hands, since half of all Americans will need long-term services and supports after turning 65 (by 2040, a quarter of us will be 65 or older).

“For decades, older Americans and people with disabilities–and their families–have been calling on Congress for help. That’s why overwhelming majorities of Americans from both parties want the government to step up with long-overdue investments in housing, home and community-based services, and the aging services workforce.”

In a letter to Congressional leadership, Sloan urged that the final legislation include meaningful investments for older adults and their families.

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.