II
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 870
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to enhance the longevity, dignity,
empowerment, and respect of older individuals who are Native Americans,
and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH5, 2025
Ms. M
URKOWSKIintroduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to enhance
the longevity, dignity, empowerment, and respect of older
individuals who are Native Americans, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhancing Native El-4
ders’ Longevity, Dignity, Empowerment, and Respect 5
Act’’ or the ‘‘Native ELDER Act’’. 6
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2
•S 870 IS
SEC. 2. OLDER AMERICANS TRIBAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 1
Section 201(c) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 2
(42 U.S.C. 3011(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 3
following: 4
‘‘(4)(A) In this paragraph: 5
‘‘(i) The term ‘Native Hawaiian’ has the mean-6
ing given such term in section 625. 7
‘‘(ii) The term ‘relevant committees of Con-8
gress’ means— 9
‘‘(I) the Committee on Health, Education, 10
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 11
‘‘(II) the Committee on Education and 12
Workforce of the House of Representatives; 13
‘‘(III) the Committee on Indian Affairs of 14
the Senate; and 15
‘‘(IV) the Subcommittee on Indian and In-16
sular Affairs of the Committee on Natural Re-17
sources of the House of Representatives. 18
‘‘(B)(i) From amounts appropriated pursuant to sec-19
tion 216(a), the Assistant Secretary shall establish, within 20
the Office for American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Na-21
tive Hawaiian Programs, an advisory committee, to be 22
known as the ‘Older Americans Tribal Advisory Com-23
mittee’ (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘Committee’) 24
to provide advice and guidance to the Assistant Secretary 25
on matters relating to Native Americans under this Act. 26
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3
•S 870 IS
‘‘(ii) The Committee shall facilitate, but not supplant, 1
government-to-government consultation between the Ad-2
ministration and Indian tribes and confer with organiza-3
tions representing Native Hawaiians. 4
‘‘(C)(i) The Committee shall be composed of 11 mem-5
bers, of whom— 6
‘‘(I) 3 shall be appointed by the Assistant Sec-7
retary; 8
‘‘(II) 1 shall be appointed by the chairperson of 9
the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate; 10
‘‘(III) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking 11
member of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 12
Senate; 13
‘‘(IV) 1 shall be appointed by the chairperson 14
of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 15
Pensions of the Senate; 16
‘‘(V) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking mem-17
ber of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 18
and Pensions of the Senate; 19
‘‘(VI) 1 shall be appointed by the chairperson 20
of the Committee on Education and Workforce of 21
the House of Representatives; 22
‘‘(VII) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking 23
member of the Committee on Education and Work-24
force of the House of Representatives; 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4
•S 870 IS
‘‘(VIII) 1 shall be appointed by the chairperson 1
of the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs 2
of the Committee on Natural Resources of the 3
House of Representatives; and 4
‘‘(IX) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking mem-5
ber of the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Af-6
fairs of the Committee on Natural Resources of the 7
House of Representatives. 8
‘‘(ii) Nominations for members of the Committee 9
shall be from any of the following: 10
‘‘(I) Indian tribes. 11
‘‘(II) Tribal organizations. 12
‘‘(III) Organizations representing Native Ha-13
waiians. 14
‘‘(iii) To the maximum extent feasible, the Assistant 15
Secretary shall work with the individuals making appoint-16
ments under clause (i) to ensure— 17
‘‘(I) that the members of the Committee rep-18
resent a diverse set of expertise on issues relating to 19
geographic regions, Indian tribes, organizations rep-20
resenting Native Hawaiians, and the health and 21
well-being of Native Americans; 22
‘‘(II) that not less than one member is an Alas-23
kan Native; and 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5
•S 870 IS
‘‘(III) that not less than one member is a Na-1
tive Hawaiian. 2
‘‘(iv) No member of the Committee shall be an officer 3
or employee of the Federal Government. 4
‘‘(v)(I) Each member of the Committee— 5
‘‘(aa) subject to subclause (II), shall be ap-6
pointed to a 3-year term; and 7
‘‘(bb) may be reappointed to not more than 3 8
consecutive terms. 9
‘‘(II) The first 3 appointments by the Assistant Sec-10
retary under clause (i)(I) shall be for a 2-year term. 11
‘‘(III) Any vacancy in the Committee shall be filled 12
in the same manner as the original appointment not more 13
than 90 days after the date on which the position becomes 14
vacant. 15
‘‘(D)(i) The Committee shall meet in person not less 16
than twice each year. 17
‘‘(ii) Not fewer than 1 representative from the Office 18
for American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawai-19
ian Programs shall be present at each meeting of the Com-20
mittee. 21
‘‘(iii) Any representatives from the Office for Amer-22
ican Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian Pro-23
grams shall be nonvoting representatives at meetings of 24
the Committee. 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6
•S 870 IS
‘‘(E) The Committee shall— 1
‘‘(i) identify evolving issues of relevance to Na-2
tive Americans relating to programs of the Adminis-3
tration under this Act; 4
‘‘(ii) communicate to the Assistant Secretary 5
the issues identified under clause (i); 6
‘‘(iii) submit to the Assistant Secretary rec-7
ommendations for, and solutions to— 8
‘‘(I) the issues identified under clause (i); 9
‘‘(II) issues relating to this Act involving 10
Native Americans raised at the Tribal, regional, 11
or national level; and 12
‘‘(III) issues relating to any Tribal con-13
sultation carried out by the Administration 14
under this Act; 15
‘‘(iv) discuss issues and proposals for changes 16
to the regulations, policies, and procedures of the 17
Administration under this Act that impact Native 18
Americans; 19
‘‘(v) identify priorities and provide advice on 20
appropriate strategies for Tribal consultation on 21
issues under this Act at the Tribal, regional, or na-22
tional level regarding the Administration; 23
‘‘(vi) ensure that pertinent issues of the Admin-24
istration under this Act are brought to the attention 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7
•S 870 IS
of an Indian tribe and organization representing Na-1
tive Hawaiians in a timely manner so that timely 2
feedback from an Indian tribe and organization rep-3
resenting Native Hawaiians can be obtained; 4
‘‘(vii) identify and propose solutions to any 5
interdepartmental barrier between the Administra-6
tion and other Federal agencies; and 7
‘‘(viii) coordinate with the Secretary of Labor, 8
the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 9
Medicaid Services, and the Director of the Indian 10
Health Service on relevant issues. 11
‘‘(F)(i) Not less frequently than once each year, the 12
Committee shall submit to the Assistant Secretary and the 13
relevant committees of Congress a report that describes— 14
‘‘(I) the activities of the Committee during the 15
previous year; and 16
‘‘(II) recommendations for legislative or admin-17
istrative action for the following year. 18
‘‘(ii) Not more than 45 days after the date on which 19
the Assistant Secretary receives a report under clause (i), 20
the Assistant Secretary shall submit a written response 21
to that report to— 22
‘‘(I) the Committee; and 23
‘‘(II) the relevant committees of Congress. 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8
•S 870 IS
‘‘(G) Members of the Committee shall be com-1
pensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the an-2
nual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Execu-3
tive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 4
Code, for each day (including travel time) during which 5
the member is engaged in the performance of the duties 6
of the Committee. 7
‘‘(H) Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, shall 8
not apply to the Committee.’’. 9
SEC. 3. SUPPORTING SERVICES FOR HEALTHY AGING AND 10
INDEPENDENCE. 11
Section 636(b)(2) of the Older Americans Act of 12
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3057k–21(b)(2)) is amended by striking 13
‘‘in-home assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘in-home assistance 14
(including for the modification of homes that is necessary 15
to facilitate the ability of older individuals to remain at 16
home)’’. 17
SEC. 4. FUNDING SET ASIDE. 18
Section 644 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 19
U.S.C. 3057o) is amended— 20
(1) by striking ‘‘not more than’’; and 21
(2) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking 22
‘‘2019’’ and inserting ‘‘2025’’. 23
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9
•S 870 IS
SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING PRO-1
GRAMS. 2
Section 201(c)(3)(H) of the Older Americans Act of 3
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3011(c)(3)(H)) is amended to read as 4
follows: 5
‘‘(H) develop and provide technical assistance 6
and training programs to grantees under title VI, 7
which technical assistance and training programs— 8
‘‘(i) shall ensure adequate organizational 9
capacity to deliver the services under such title; 10
and 11
‘‘(ii) may include topics such as program 12
management, data development and use, basic 13
business skills, grant development, program and 14
service innovations, and staff training and cer-15
tification;’’. 16
SEC. 6. REPORTS. 17
(a) A
SSISTANTSECRETARY FORAGING.— 18
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 19
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assist-20
ant Secretary for Aging shall submit to the commit-21
tees described in paragraph (2), and make publicly 22
available, a report that— 23
(A) evaluates the feasibility of modeling 24
the Native American Caregiver Support Pro-25
gram under part C of title VI of the Older 26
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10
•S 870 IS
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3057k–11 et 1
seq.) on the program of comprehensive assist-2
ance for family caregivers of eligible veterans 3
under section 1720G(a) of title 38, United 4
States Code; 5
(B) evaluates the level of need for in-home 6
services that include accessible home modifica-7
tions for older individuals who are Native 8
Americans, including the need for provisions 9
under the Older Americans Act of 1965 to 10
prioritize accessible home modifications as in- 11
home services for such older individuals; and 12
(C) evaluates and identifies barriers to In-13
dian tribes accessing programs under title VI of 14
the Older Americans Act of 1965, and coordina-15
tion between programs funded under title III of 16
such Act and programs funded under title VI of 17
such Act, including by— 18
(i) assessing the impacts of popu-19
lation-based formulas and tribal service 20
population requirements on program par-21
ticipation; 22
(ii) identifying the number of Indians 23
unserved by programs under such title VI; 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11
•S 870 IS
(iii) identifying the States making 1
grants to Indian tribes under title III of 2
such Act; and 3
(iv) providing estimates of funding 4
necessary to support programs under title 5
VI of such Act for all tribal organizations 6
not eligible under such title as in effect on 7
the date of enactment of this Act. 8
(2) C
OMMITTEES OF CONGRESS .—The commit-9
tees described in this paragraph are— 10
(A) the Committee on Health, Education, 11
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 12
(B) the Committee on Education and 13
Workforce of the House of Representatives; 14
(C) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 15
Senate; and 16
(D) the Subcommittee on Indian and Insu-17
lar Affairs of the Committee on Natural Re-18
sources of the House of Representatives. 19
(b) S
ECRETARY OFLABOR.—Not later than 180 days 20
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 21
Labor shall submit a report to Congress on how recipients 22
of funding under title V of the Older Americans Act of 23
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12
•S 870 IS
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056 et seq.) are serving older individ-1
uals who are Native Americans with such funding. 2
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S870.IS S870
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB