Text of US SB 3575 (2012)

II 112TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3575 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide equal treatment of LGBT older individuals. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 Mr. BENNET introduced 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 provide equal treatment of LGBT older individuals. 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 ‘‘LGBT Elder Ameri- 4 cans Act of 2012’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Older Ameri- 7 cans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002) is amended— 8 (1) in paragraph (24)— 9 VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3575 IS (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 1 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 2 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 3 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(D) status as an LGBT individual.’’; 6 (2) by redesignating— 7 (A) paragraphs (36) through (54) as para- 8 graphs (38) through (56), respectively; and 9 (B) paragraphs (34) and (35) as para- 10 graphs (35) and (36), respectively; 11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (33) the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(34) The term ‘LGBT’, used with respect to 14 an individual, means a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 15 transgender individual.’’; and 16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (36), as so re- 17 designated, the following: 18 ‘‘(37) The term ‘minority’, used with respect to 19 an individual, includes a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 20 transgender individual.’’. 21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 22 215(e)(1)(J) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 23 U.S.C. 3020e–1(e)(1)(J)) is amended by striking ‘‘minori- 24 ties’’ and inserting ‘‘minority individuals’’. 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3575 IS SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION ON AGING. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATION.—Section 2 201 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3011) 3 is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (d)(3)(J), by inserting before 5 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including the effec- 6 tiveness of such services in meeting the needs of 7 LGBT older individuals’’; and 8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(g) The Assistant Secretary is authorized to des- 10 ignate within the Administration a person to have respon- 11 sibility for addressing issues affecting LGBT older individ- 12 uals.’’. 13 (b) FUNCTIONS OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—Section 14 202 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012) 15 is amended— 16 (1) in subsection (a)— 17 (A) in paragraph (16)(A)(ii), by inserting 18 ‘‘, and separately specifying the number of such 19 individuals who are LGBT individuals’’ before 20 the semicolon; 21 (B) in paragraph (27)(C), by striking ‘‘; 22 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 23 (C) in paragraph (28), by striking the pe- 24 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 25 (D) by adding at the end the following: 26 VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3575 IS ‘‘(29) conduct studies and collect data to deter- 1 mine the services that are needed by LGBT older in- 2 dividuals.’’; and 3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(g)(1) The Assistant Secretary shall, directly or by 5 grant or contract, establish and operate the National Re- 6 source Center on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 7 Transgender Aging (in this subsection referred to as the 8 ‘Center’). 9 ‘‘(2) To address the unique challenges faced by 10 LGBT older adults, the Center shall provide national, 11 State, and local organizations, including those with a pri- 12 mary mission of serving LGBT individuals, and those with 13 a primary mission of serving older adults, with the infor- 14 mation and technical assistance the organizations need to 15 effectively serve LGBT older adults. 16 ‘‘(3) The Center shall have 3 primary objectives, con- 17 sisting of— 18 ‘‘(A) educating aging services organizations 19 about the existence and special needs of LGBT older 20 adults; 21 ‘‘(B) sensitizing LGBT organizations about the 22 existence and special needs of older adults; and 23 ‘‘(C) providing educational resources to LGBT 24 older adults and their caregivers. 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3575 IS ‘‘(4)(A) To be eligible to receive funds under this sub- 1 section, an entity— 2 ‘‘(i) shall have demonstrated expertise in work- 3 ing with organizations or individuals on issues af- 4 fecting LGBT individuals; 5 ‘‘(ii) shall have documented experience in pro- 6 viding training and technical assistance on a na- 7 tional basis or a formal relationship with an organi- 8 zation that has that experience; and 9 ‘‘(iii) shall meet such other criteria as the As- 10 sistant Secretary shall issue. 11 ‘‘(B) To be eligible to receive funds under this sub- 12 section, an entity shall submit an application to the Assist- 13 ant Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 14 taining such information as the Assistant Secretary may 15 require. 16 ‘‘(5) The Assistant Secretary shall make available to 17 the Center on an annual basis such resources as are nec- 18 essary for the Center to carry out effectively the functions 19 of the Center under this Act and not less than the amount 20 of resources made available to the National Resource Cen- 21 ter on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging for 22 fiscal year 2012. 23 VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3575 IS ‘‘(6) The Assistant Secretary shall develop and issue 1 operating standards and reporting requirements for the 2 Center.’’. 3 (c) REPORTS.—Section 207 of the Older Americans 4 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3018) is amended— 5 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting ‘‘LGBT 6 individuals,’’ after ‘‘low-income individuals,’’; 7 (2) in subsection (c)— 8 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, and 9 separately specify the number of such individ- 10 uals who are LGBT individuals’’ before the 11 semicolon; 12 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 13 (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 14 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 15 following: 16 ‘‘(4) the effectiveness of such activities in as- 17 sisting LGBT individuals;’’; and 18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(d) The Assistant Secretary shall ensure that— 20 ‘‘(1) no individual will be required to provide in- 21 formation regarding the sexual orientation or gender 22 identity of the individual as a condition of partici- 23 pating in activities or receiving services under this 24 Act; and 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3575 IS ‘‘(2) no agency or other entity providing activi- 1 ties or services under this Act, that receives, for the 2 purposes of this Act, information regarding the sex- 3 ual orientation or gender identity of an individual 4 will disclose the information in any form that would 5 permit such individual to be identified. 6 ‘‘(e) The Assistant Secretary shall develop appro- 7 priate protocols, demonstrations, tools, or guidance for use 8 by State agencies and area agencies on aging, to ensure 9 successful implementation of data collection requirements 10 under section 201(d)(3)(J), paragraphs (16)(A)(ii) and 11 (29) of section 202(a), subsections (a)(3), (c)(1), and 12 (c)(4), and section 307(a)(6), relating to LGBT individ- 13 uals. 14 ‘‘(f) The Assistant Secretary shall determine when 15 such data collection requirements shall apply, taking into 16 consideration the complexity and importance of each re- 17 quirement, but each requirement shall apply not later than 18 1 year after the date of enactment of the LGBT Elder 19 Americans Act of 2012.’’. 20 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR STATE AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS 21 ON AGING. 22 Section 301(a)(2) of the Older Americans Act of 23 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3021(a)(2)) is amended— 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3575 IS (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 1 and inserting a semicolon; 2 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as sub- 3 paragraph (G); and 4 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(F) organizations that serve LGBT indi- 7 viduals; and’’. 8 SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES FOR HEALTH, INDEPENDENCE, AND 9 LONGEVITY. 10 Section 411(a)(11) of the Older Americans Act of 11 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3032(a)(11)) is amended to read as fol- 12 lows: 13 ‘‘(11) conducting activities of national signifi- 14 cance to promote quality and continuous improve- 15 ment in the support and services provided to individ- 16 uals with greatest social need, through activities that 17 include needs assessment, program development and 18 evaluation, training, technical assistance, and re- 19 search, concerning— 20 ‘‘(A) addressing physical and mental 21 health, disabilities, and health disparities; 22 ‘‘(B) providing long-term care, including 23 in-home and community-based care; 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3575 IS ‘‘(C) providing informal care, and formal 1 care in a facility setting; 2 ‘‘(D) providing access to culturally respon- 3 sive health and human services; and 4 ‘‘(E) addressing other gaps in assistance 5 and issues that the Assistant Secretary deter- 6 mines are of particular importance to older in- 7 dividuals with greatest social need.’’. 8 SEC. 6. DATA ON DISCRIMINATION. 9 Section 712(a)(3) of the Older Americans Act of 10 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058g(a)(3)) is amended— 11 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 12 through (I) as subparagraphs (G) through (J); and 13 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘(F) collect and analyze data, relating to 16 discrimination against LGBT older individuals 17 on the basis of actual or perceived sexual ori- 18 entation or gender identity in the admission to, 19 transfer or discharge from, or lack of adequate 20 care provided in long term care settings, and 21 shall include the analyses in the reports;’’. 22 Æ VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Sep 25, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3575.IS S3575 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS