Senate Joins House in Approving $276 Million in Emergency Elder Justice Funding
| The Senate has joined the House in passing a new covid-19 relief bill, also known as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Their vote came on Saturday. Since there are differences between the two bills, the measure needs to return to the House to work them out. The House Speaker indicated she expected the House to quickly approve the Senate bill, then allowing it to go to the President for final signature. “Of special importance to our Elder Justice Coalition is the agreement in both bills for $276 million in emergency elder justice funding. The overwhelming majority of this will be to continue and expand the work of adult protective services in addressing covid-19 related issues, including combatting vaccine-related scams and helping to prevent a recent spike in elder abuse cases against Asian Americans. The funding will also go to strengthen the work of the long-term care ombudsman program,” said Elder Justice Coalition National Coordinator Bob Blancato. The Coalition salutes the important work of Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden in helping to keep the elder justice funding in the Senate bill. The Coalition also indicated that it looks forward to the release of the $100 million in elder justice funding passed in December. “We are especially interested in the state APS plans that were submitted and are being reviewed to see what important actions they will take to address covid-19 related elder abuse issues at the state level,” Blancato said. |