Order Code RL33880
Older Americans Act: FY2006 Funding,
FY2007 Proposals, and FY2008 Budget Request
February 15, 2007
Carol O’Shaughnessy
Specialist in Social Legislation
Domestic Social Policy Division
Angela Napili
Information Research Specialist
Knowledge Services Group

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Older Americans Act: FY2006 Funding,
FY2007 Proposals, and FY2008 Budget Request
Summary
The Older Americans Act (OAA) is the major federal vehicle for the delivery
of social and nutrition services for older persons. These include supportive services,
congregate and home-delivered nutrition services, community service employment,
the long-term care ombudsman program, and services to prevent the abuse, neglect
and exploitation of older persons. The act also supports grants to Native Americans
and research, training, and demonstration activities.
For FY2008, the President’s budget requests a total of $1.685 billion for OAA
programs, a 5% reduction from the FY2006 level of $1.783 million. (Final FY2007
funding amounts have not yet been determined.) The budget requests $1.2 billion for
Title III, Grants for State and Community Programs on Aging, a 2% reduction from
the FY2006 level. No funding is requested for the disease prevention and health
promotion program under Title III; the program was funded at $21.4 million in
FY2006.
The FY2008 budget request includes a reduction of 19% for the Title V
community service employment program, funded at $432.3 million in FY2006. The
budget requests $35.5 million in funding for Title IV training, research, and
demonstration grants, a 44% increase from the FY2006 level.
Continuing Resolution H.J.Res. 20 would provide funding through the end of
FY2007. It passed the House on January 31, 2007, and the Senate on February 14,
2007. The bill provides an increase of $20.4 million over FY2006 levels for Title III
nutrition programs and an increase of $51.3 million over FY2006 levels for Title V
community service employment. It does not specify precise dollar figures for other
OAA programs.
The OAA was reauthorized through FY2011 by P.L. 109-365. For information
on the 2006 amendments, see CRS Report RL31336, Older Americans Act:
Programs, Funding, and 2000 Reauthorization, by Carol O’Shaughnessy and Angela
Napili.
This report will be updated.

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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
FY2006 Funding and FY2008 Budget Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Title III. Grants for State and Community Programs on Aging . . . . . . . 2
Title IV. Activities for Health, Independence and Longevity . . . . . . . . 2
Title V. Community Services Senior Opportunities Act . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Title VII. Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
List of Tables
Table 1. The Older Americans Act, Alzheimer’s Demonstration Grants,
and White House Conference on Aging Funding, FY2002-FY2006,
and FY2007 Budget Request, Committee Reports,
and Continuing Resolution, and FY2008 Budget Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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Older Americans Act:
FY2006 Funding, FY2007 Proposals,
and FY2008 Budget Request
Introduction
Originally enacted in 1965, the Older Americans Act (OAA) supports a wide
range of social services and programs for older persons. These include supportive
services, congregate and home-delivered nutrition services, community service
employment, the long-term care ombudsman program, and services to prevent the
abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older persons. Except for Title V, the Community
Service Senior Opportunities Act, all programs are administered by the
Administration on Aging (AoA) in the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS). Title V is administered by the Department of Labor (DOL).
The OAA was reauthorized in 2006 by P.L. 109-365. For further information,
see CRS Report RL31336, The Older Americans Act: Programs, Funding, and 2006
Reauthorization (P.L. 109-365), by Carol O’Shaughnessy and Angela Napili.
Table 1 summarizes OAA appropriations from FY2002 through FY2006, and
includes details of the FY2007 budget request, the FY2007 House and Senate
funding recommendations, and the FY2008 budget request. The table also includes
funding for the Alzheimer’s disease demonstration grants and the 2005 White House
Conference on Aging. Continuing resolution H.J. Res. 20 would provide
appropriations through the remainder of FY2007. Under this bill, FY2007 amounts
would be based on FY2006 enacted appropriations levels. The bill does not specify
precise dollar figures for all programs, and there is some flexibility for agencies to
change program amounts from the FY2006 enacted appropriations levels. Agencies
must report the program amounts to the appropriations committees within 30 days
of enactment (Sec. 113). H.J. Res. 20 passed the House on January 31, 2007, and the
Senate on February 14, 2007.
In the discussion of OAA programs that follows, the FY2008 budget request is
compared to the FY2006 final appropriation. For information on OAA
appropriations in earlier years, see CRS Report RL32437, Older Americans Act:
History of Appropriations, FY1966-FY2004, by Carol O’Shaughnessy.
FY2006 Funding and FY2008 Budget Request
For FY2006, Congress approved $1.783 billion for all OAA programs. The
FY2008 budget requests $1.685 billion, a reduction of 5% from the FY2006 level.

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CRS-2
Title III. Grants for State and Community Programs on Aging. The
major program under the act, Title III — Grants for State and Community Programs
on Aging — authorizes grants to 56 state and 655 area agencies on aging to act as
advocates on behalf of, and to coordinate programs for, older persons. Title III
accounted for 70% of the act’s total FY2006 appropriations. States receive separate
allotments of funds for supportive services and centers, family caregiver support,
congregate and home-delivered nutrition services, the nutrition services incentive
grant program, and disease prevention and health promotion services.
For FY2006, Congress provided $1.242 billion for all Title III programs. The
FY2007 continuing appropriations bill H.J.Res. 20 provides an increase over the
FY2006 levels of $13.9 million (a 3.6% increase) for congregate meals and $6.5
million (a 3.6% increase) for home-delivered meals.
The FY2008 budget request is $1.217 billion, a 2% reduction from the FY2006
level. Most of this decrease would come from eliminating funds for Title III-D
disease prevention and health promotion, which was funded at $21.4 million in
FY2006. The Administration’s AoA Budget Justification indicates that states would
still be able to provide disease prevention and health promotion activities with funds
from Title III-B home and community-based supportive services.1 The
Administration also indicates that AoA envisions using “evidence-based” prevention
and “integrating prevention as an underlying principle” in its programs, rather than
providing “a small funding stream of unfocused seed money” through the separate
disease promotion and health promotion services program.2 The other Title III
programs would see slight reductions from the FY2006 levels under the FY2008
budget proposal.
Title IV. Activities for Health, Independence and Longevity. Title IV
of the act authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Aging to award funds for training,
research, and demonstration projects in the field of aging. In recent years, AoA has
funded a number of national efforts that support the work of state and area agencies
on aging, including the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center, the
National Center on Elder Abuse, and other national resource centers that focus on
legal assistance, retirement needs of minority populations, and the vulnerable elderly.
Other recent projects have included funding for Aging and Disability Resource
Centers (ADRCs). The ADRC program provides competitive grants to states to help
them develop and implement “one stop shop” access points to information on long-
term care support options. The program is currently operating in 43 states. Other
activities have included outreach to help Medicare beneficiaries understand their
benefits under the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) (both activities conducted
in cooperation with CMS.)
1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2008: Administration on
Aging: Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, p. 28, at
[http://www.aoa.gov/ABOUT/legbudg/current_budg/docs/AoA%20FY%202008%20CJ%
20Final.pdf], visited Feb. 12, 2007.
2 U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Major Savings and Reforms in the President’s
2008 Budget, p. 48, at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2008/pdf/savings.pdf],
visited Feb. 12, 2007.

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CRS-3
For Title IV the FY2008 budget request is $35.5 million, an increase of 44%
over the FY2006 level. About four-fifths ($28 million) of Title IV funds would be
used for Choices for Independence demonstration programs. The balance of the
request would be used to maintain support for ongoing activities, including national
resources centers that provide technical assistance to aging service providers,
intergenerational activities, and program evaluation.
According to the Budget Justification, the Choices for Independence initiative
“targets people while they are still healthy” to help them plan ahead for long-term
care and “to conserve and extend their personal resources so as to maintain their
independence in the community.” Choices for Independence would have three
components. First, the “Consumer Empowerment”component would provide
information to older people and their families that is “designed to increase the use of
private financing options” for long-term care, such as long-term care insurance and
home equity conversions as well as other information on home modification,
assistive technology, and options for living arrangements. Second, the “Healthy
Lifestyle Choices” component would build on the existing Title IV evidence-based
disease prevention initiative to help seniors change behavior to reduce risk of disease
and disability. Funds would support activities in areas such as fall prevention,
exercise, and nutrition. Third, the “Community Living Incentives” component would
give states a “flexible funding source” they could use to help the elderly avoid
institutionalization. This component would provide financial incentives to
low-to-moderate-income individuals who are at risk of nursing home placement but
who are not yet eligible for Medicaid. ADRCs would assist older people and their
families develop a plan to meet their long-term care needs.
The Choices for Independence demonstration would require a 25% state match
for all three components, and states would have to meet certain performance
standards as a condition of participation.3
Title V. Community Services Senior Opportunities Act. Title V has
as its purpose the promotion of useful part-time opportunities in community service
activities for unemployed low-income persons who are 55 years or older and who
have poor employment prospects. For FY2006, the community service employment
program represented almost one-quarter of the OAA’s funds ($432 million out of
$1.78 billion). Enrollees work part-time in a variety of community service activities.
The program provided for 60,050 jobs, serving about 92,300 persons, in FY2006.4
The annual cost per job slot in FY2006 was $7,153.
Enrollees are paid no less than the highest of the federal minimum wage, the
state or local minimum wage, or the prevailing wage paid by the same employer for
3 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2008: Administration on
Aging: Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, pp. 49-53, at
[http://www.aoa.gov/ABOUT/legbudg/current_budg/docs/AoA%20FY%202008%20CJ%
20Final.pdf], visited Feb. 12, 2007.
4 U.S. Department of Labor, FY2008 Performance Budget, Employment and Training
Administration, Community Service Employment for Older Americans, p. CSEOA-13.

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CRS-4
similar public occupations. In addition to wages, enrollees receive physical
examinations, personal and job-related counseling, and transportation for
employment purposes, under certain circumstances.
FY2007 continuing appropriations legislation (H.J. Res. 20) adds $51.3 million
in additional funds over the FY2006 funding level to provide for an increase in the
minimum wage to $5.85/hour for Title V participants in FY2007 (the program year
for FY2007 funds begins on July 1, 2007).
The FY2008 budget requests $350 million, a reduction of 19% from the FY2006
level. According to the Administration, the proposal would fund approximately
39,260 positions serving 59,000 participants in 2008.5 A recent DOL/Office of
Management and Budget program assessment rated the program ineffective, “largely
due to inadequate competition in the grants process, lack of data on program
performance and impact, and duplication of other Federal programs.”6 The DoL
Budget Justification indicates that many employers are finding that the demand for
skilled workers exceeds the available labor supply and they are increasingly eager to
hire older workers; therefore, in FY2008 the Administration indicates that the
workforce investment system will play a stronger role in placing older workers in
unsubsidized employment, rather than have the Title V program place older workers
in subsidized employment.
The Administration notes that the ultimate goal of the program is to move
participants into unsubsidized employment. However, the 2006 Older Americans
Act reauthorization amendments (P.L. 109-365) maintained the program focus on
employing older people in community service jobs and reemphasized the community
service aspects of the program. While the program is to move participants into
unsubsidized employment, the amendments recognized that many older people who
have special needs may need to remain in subsidized employment and that the
program supplements the income for some workers who cannot find jobs in the
private economy.7
Title VII. Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection Activities. Title VII
authorizes the long-term care ombudsman program as well as elder abuse, neglect
and exploitation prevention programs. Most Title VII funding is directed at the long-
term care ombudsman program. Of $20.1 million appropriated for FY2006, almost
three-quarters was for ombudsman activities. The purpose of the program is to
investigate and resolve complaints of residents of nursing facilities, board and care
facilities, and other adult care homes. The Administration’s FY2008 budget request
5 U.S. Department of Labor, FY2008 Performance Budget, Employment and Training
Administration, Community Service Employment for Older Americans, p. CSEOA-13. The
numbers of positions, participants, and cost per participant in FY2008 account for costs of
the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (H.R. 2).
6 U.S. Department of Labor, FY2008 Performance Budget, Employment and Training
Administration, Community Service Employment for Older Americans, p.CSEOA-10.
7 For further information, see CRS Report RL31336, Older Americans Act: Programs,
Funding, and 2006 Reauthorization, by Carol O’Shaughnessy and Angela Napili.

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CRS-5
for Title VII is $19.2 million, a reduction of 5% from the FY2006 level of $20.1
million.
Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grants. The FY2008 budget would
eliminate Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grant funding, which was funded at
$12 million in FY2006. This program is administered by AoA but it is not part of the
Older Americans Act. The Administration argues that “[t]he lessons learned and the
models developed through these demonstrations are ready to be incorporated into
ongoing service programs” and that “[t]ax dollars can better be used by focusing on
disseminating information on successful, replicable, and innovative Alzheimer’s care
programs.”8
8 U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Major Savings and Reforms in the President’s
2008 Budget, p. 47, at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2008/pdf/savings.pdf],
visited Feb. 12, 2007. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2008:
Administration on Aging: Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, p. 62,
at [http://www.aoa.gov/ABOUT/legbudg/current_budg/docs/AoA%20FY%202008%
20CJ%20Final.pdf], visited Feb. 12, 2007.

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CRS-6
Table 1. The Older Americans Act, Alzheimer’s Demonstration Grants,
and White House Conference on Aging Funding, FY2002-FY2006, and FY2007 Budget Request,
Committee Reports, and Continuing Resolution, and FY2008 Budget Request
($ in millions)
OAA Programs, Alzheimer’s
FY2007
FY2007
FY2007
Demonstration Grants, and
FY2007
H.Rept.
S. Rept.
H.J.Res.
FY2008
the White House Conference on Aging
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005a FY2006b
requestc
109-515c
109-287c
20d
request
TITLE II: Administration on Aging
$20.501
$20.233
$30.618
$31.567
$30.812
$31.518 $31.518
$31.518
e
$31.829
Program administration
18.122
17.869
17.324
18.301
17.688
18.385
18.385
18.385
e
18.696
Aging network support activities
2.379f
2.364f
13.294g
13.266g
13.124g
13.133g
13.133g
13.133g
e
13.133g
TITLE III: Grants for State and
Community Programs on Aging
1,230.293
1,240.891
1,243.059
1,250.192
1,242.378
1,216.291
1,250.454 $1,243.232
e
1,216.291
Supportive services and centers
357.000 355.673 353.889
354.136
350.354
350.595
350.595
350.595
e
350.595
Family caregivers
136.000h
149.025h
152.738h
155.744h
156.060h
154.187h
156.167h
156.167h
e
154.187h
Disease prevention/health promotion
21.123
21.919
21.970
21.616
21.385
0
21.400
21.400
e
0
Nutrition services
716.170
714.274
714.462
718.696
714.579
711.509
722.292
715.070
e
711.509
— Congregate meals
(390.000)
(384.592)
(386.353)
(387.274)
(385.054)
(383.401)
(389.211)
(385.319) (398.919)i
(383.401)
— Home-delivered meals
(176.500)
(180.985)
(179.917)
(182.826)
(181.781)
(180.998)
(183.742)
(181.905) (188.305)i
(180.998)
— Nutrition services incentive grants
(149.670) (148.697)j
(148.192)
(148.596)
(147.744)
(147.110)
(149.339)
(147.846)
e
(147.110)
In-home services for the frail elderly
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
TITLE IV: Activities for Health,
Independence, and Longevity
38.280
40.258
33.509l
43.286
24.578
35.485
44.135
40.235
e
35.485
TITLE V: Community Service Senior
Opportunities Act
445.100
442.306
438.650
436.678
432.311
432.311m
420.000
432.311
483.611i
350.000
TITLE VI: Grants to Native Americans
31.229
33.704
32.771
32.702
32.353
32.375
32.375
32.375
e
32.375
Supportive and nutrition services
25.729
27.495
26.453
26.398
26.116
26.134
26.134
26.134
e
26.134
Native American caregivers
5.500
6.209
6.318
6.304
6.237
6.241
6.241
6.241
e
6.241
TITLE VII: Vulnerable Elder Rights
Protection Activities
17.681
18.559
19.444
19.288
20.142
19.166
20.156
21.156
e
19.166
Long-term care ombudsman program
n
n
14.276
14.162
15.000
14.020
n
16.010
e
14.020
n
Elder abuse prevention
n
n
5.168
5.126
5.142
5.146
5.146
e
5.146
Legal assistance
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
e
0
Native Americans elder rights program
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
e
0
TOTAL Older Americans Act Programs $1,783.084 $1,771.057 $1,798.051 $1,813.713 $1,782.574 $1,767.146 $1,798.638 $1,800.827
e $1,685.146

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OAA Programs, Alzheimer’s
FY2007
FY2007
FY2007
Demonstration Grants, and
FY2007
H.Rept.
S. Rept.
H.J.Res.
FY2008
the White House Conference on Aging
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005a FY2006b
requestc
109-515c
109-287c
20d
request
Alzheimer’s Demonstration Grantso
$11.500
$13.412
$11.883
$11.786
$11.660
0
$11.668
$12.000
e
0
White House Conference on Aging
0
0
$2.814p
$4.520p
0p
0
0
0
0
0
Sources: Appropriations legislation, various years; Administration on Aging FY2007 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, FY2008 Budget documents.
a. FY2005 amounts reflect the 0.80% across-the-board reduction required by P.L. 108-447, Division J, Section 122. The Administration was given discretion on how to distribute
the reduction among individual accounts and line items.
b. FY2006 amounts reflect two rescissions: (1) There was an 1% across-the-board reduction required by P.L. 109-148, Division B, Title III, Chapter 8, Section 3801. (2) On June
14, 2006, the HHS Secretary notified the Appropriations Committees that he would transfer funds among HHS programs to finance activities related to the Medicare drug benefit
call center. This transfer was a 0.069% across-the-board reduction and it reduced Administration on Aging funds by $0.9 million. It was authorized by Section 208 of P.L. 109-
149.
c. The 109th Congress did not pass Labor-HHS-Education FY2007 appropriations bills. A series of continuing resolutions (P.L. 109-289, P.L. 109-369, and P.L. 109-383) has continued
funding at the FY2006 levels through February 15, 2007.
d. H.J.Res. 20, Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007, would provide appropriations through the end of FY2007. Congress has not published a committee report or
table specifying dollar amounts for each program. There is some administrative flexibility provided for agencies to change program numbers from the FY2006 amounts, to be
reported back to the Appropriations Committees within 30 days of enactment (see Sec. 113). H.J.Res. 20 passed the House on January 31, 2007 and the Senate on February 14,
2007.
e. Figure not specified in H.J.Res. 20.
f. Includes $1.2 million for the Eldercare Locator, and $1.2 million for Pension Counseling and Information Program.
g. Includes funds for activities previously funded under Title IV: Senior Medicare Patrols; National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center; and National Center on Elder
Abuse. Also includes funds for the Eldercare Locator, and Pension Counseling and Information Program.
h. Funding for Native American family caregiving is shown in Title VI.
i. Figure is specified in H.J.Res. 20, but this figure does not include additional pay costs described in Sec. 111.
j. Congress transferred the program, previously funded by USDA, to AoA in FY2003.
k. Not authorized. P.L. 106-501 eliminated separate authority for in-home services for the frail elderly, but such activities may still be funded under the Title III supportive services
and centers program.
l. See footnote g. Funds shown are reduced from FY2003 level due to transfer of some funds to Title II.
m. U.S. Department of Labor, FY2007 Budget Justification of Appropriation Estimates for Committee on Appropriations gave a different figure, $388.311 million, which reflected
a legislative proposal “to provide a program decrease related to efficiencies from program streamlining.” $432.311 million was the FY2007 budget request under “current law”
(see the Budget Justification p. CSEOA-10).
n. Separate amounts not specified.
o. The FY1999 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-277) transferred the administration of the program from the Health Resources and Services
Administration to AoA. The program is authorized under Sections 398 to 398B of the Public Health Service Act.
p. P.L. 100-75 required the President to convene the conference no later than Dec. 31, 2005. It was held December 11-14, 2005. See [http://www.whcoa.gov]. FY2006 obligations
for the White House Conference on Aging were funded by carryover balances of prior-year appropriations.

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