Older Americans Act Advocacy-2

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Dear
On behalf of
I am writing regarding FY 2026 federal funding for Older Americans Act (OAA) within the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the Department of Labor. We are one of the 614 Area Agencies on Aging in the country designated by the OAA to address the needs and concerns of all older adults at the local levels.

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently passed its Labor/HHS spending bill with level funding for most OAA programs. We appreciate the committee protecting OAA programs and funding programs such as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). These programs are critical to the older adults we serve, and funding will assist in ensuring older adults continue to receive the support they need. However, consistently level-funding these programs represents a cut when compared to the rapidly growing older adult population and increased cost of service provision, and we urge Congress to provide a meaningful increase to OAA funding in FY 2026.

Funding for OAA programs and services is essential to the health and independence of millions of older adults and caregivers, including the older adults and caregivers that are served in your district. These OAA programs and services are funded through ACL, then through our State Unit on Aging and then developed, coordinated and delivered locally and in partnership with our county office of aging. In your community and across the country, the aging population we service is growing rapidly.

The OAA creates community resources for older adults to access a wide array of programs and services, including information and referral to find help for their challenges with aging; congregate and home-delivered meals to address hunger, malnutrition and social isolation; health and wellness programs; in-home care support; transportation; elder abuse prevention; adult day care and other needed options. Family caregivers, who contribute more long-term care than any formal government program, can also access OAA-funded respite, training, support and help navigating their caregiving roles.
While all OAA subtitles require increases to meet the current and future needs of older adults, I urge Congress to particularly prioritize, protect and increase funding for the following OAA services:
    Title III B Home and Community-Based Supportive Services
    Title VI Grants for Native American Aging Programs, Part A (nutrition and supportive services) and Part C (family caregiver support) and
    Title III-E National Family Caregiver Support Program.

OAA Title III-B is our most flexible source of OAA funding and a backbone set of services. However, despite its critical role in the lives of older adults, Title III-B has been underfunded for years.

Our agencies also administer programs to support family caregivers under the OAA’s Title III-E National Family Caregiver Support Program, which is the only national program supporting the family caregivers of older adults—who provide the majority of long-term care in this country.

We thank the Senate Appropriations Committee for providing funding for programs set for elimination in the President’s FY 2026 budget, and we urge the House to also provide full funding for the following programs:

    Prevention and Public Health Fund (funds falls prevention and chronic disease self-management efforts by the Aging Network through ACL)
    LIHEAP
    CSBG
    OAA Title V Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

On behalf of
please stand strong for the Older Americans Act that has provided services for Older Americans since 1965.

Thank you,
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For more information on programs available through the New York State Office of Aging, please visit aging.ny.gov
AgingNY: Advocating for
New York’s aging population

The mission of the Association is to support and enhance the capacity of New York's local Area Agencies on Aging and to work in collaboration with the aging network to promote independence, preserve dignity, and advocate on the behalf of aging New Yorkers and their families.

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