Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D) has introduced a new bill that amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to ensure inclusion of LGBTQ seniors.
The Elder Pride Act is the latest legislation Casey introduced to the Senate intended to support LGBTQ seniors, specifically seniors living in rural areas. The bill would establish the Office of Older LGBT Policy in the Department of Health and Human Services to “conduct and arrange for research in the field of LGBT aging with a special emphasis on gathering statistics on older LGBT individuals.”
The department’s director would oversee funding opportunities to benefit older LGBTQ Americans and promote polices to address the needs of that community. The legislation would also create a grant program designed to connect rural LGBTQ seniors with community services in larger cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
The effort comes as a result of Casey meeting with older LGBTQ Pennsylvanians and learning about the issues and concerns they face, said an aide with the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging.
“Casey took this as an opportunity to build on his work fighting for LGBT individuals and focus on an emerging community in the state,” said the aide, who requested anonymity. “This is a growing community in the state and is expected to double by 2030. This legislation is a result of over a year of engagement with the LGBT community by our office.”
The bill seeks to amend the Older Americans Act of 1965, legislation passed by President Lyndon B. Johnson that provides supportive services to seniors including nutritional programs, home healthcare and assisted-living support. Area Agencies on Aging, which was added to the act in 1973, connect seniors with these services in their specific areas.
The Aging Committee aide noted that the amendment would “ensure those services that are provided to seniors are also friendly to LGBT seniors as well.”
The proposed legislation followed the inaugural Aging Summit held in Harrisburg Oct. 9-10. More than 350 seniors and representatives from LGBT community organizations and aging-services organizations participated in the two-day summit. Heshie Zinman, board chair of the LGBT Elder Initiative, proposed creating the statewide convention to address the needs of LGBTQ Pennsylvanians after the LEI hosted a similar event in Philadelphia in 2016.
Zinman said Casey’s amendment to the Older Americans Act will “recognize older LGBT adults as a vulnerable population.”
Zinman said the Elder Initiative is “looking for an LGBT patient bill of rights around the long-term care system. We really want to make sure that agencies that are serving older adults are trained in issues of LGBT cultural competence so that the systems are culturally competent to LGBT seniors.”
The proposed bill is a part of Casey’s efforts to support LGBTQ rights as the senator seeks reelection against Republican candidate Lou Barletta in the general election Nov. 6.
On National Coming Out Day Oct. 11, Casey sent a letter signed by 20 other senators to State Department Secretary Mike Pompeo to protest a new policy to halt diplomatic visas for unmarried same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and employees in the United States.
The letter in part read: “This new policy has the potential to be unnecessarily cruel and fails to take into account some of the challenges faced by same-sex couples around the world. In 69 countries, consenting, same-sex sexual relations are criminalized, and same-sex marriage is available in only 26 U.N. member states. To bar LGBTQ diplomats from bringing their partners to the United States is to condone the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world.”
The policy requires proof of marriage for diplomats and United Nations officials in same-sex relationships by Dec. 1 or they face expulsion from the country within 30 days.
An aide on Casey’s foreign-policy team told PGN the senator initiated the letter following concerns “about the rollout of the policy and the risks that it would create a chilling effect for LGBTQ diplomats who were interested in serving in the U.S. and representing their countries here.”
Casey’s aide confirmed the State Department received the letter, saying the message would be sent “through appropriate channels.” As of presstime, there was no official response to the letter.