Tuesday, September 13, 2022
It’s ironic that as Halloween approaches, election season is ramping up. Just like trick-or-treaters, our legislators are going door–to–door and marching in parades. What this means is that there is very little time left for passing legislation in this Congress. In terms of Federal appropriations, House and Senate negotiations remain at a standstill as legislators wait to see what midterm elections will mean for the future control of Congress. While we’re not clairvoyant, it doesn’t take a crystal ball to guess that Congress is likely to pass a continuing resolution (CR) before October 1.
A CR will avoid a government shutdown and buy Congress time for the difficult negotiations on FY 2023 spending levels, until after they see what the election will bring. We can expect the CR to run through mid-December and it will likely mean our aging program funding will be frozen at FY 2022 levels for now.
The Biden Administration is also seeking to add funding to the CR for Ukraine, disaster-relief for a couple of the Southern states hit by floods and additional COVID-19 funding. Republicans have signaled that they won’t support any additional COVID-19 funding but they do seem open to the other added funding measures.
AgeGuide would like to thank you for your advocacy throughout the year. Together we sent 389 letters to Congress in support of aging issues during FY22. But clearly our work is not done. We must continue to advocate for the investment we know is sorely needed. We need to champion the robust increases reflected in the President’s budget and the Democratic House bill (and to a lesser extent the Democratic Senate bill) as the best starting point for future negotiations. As was the case last year in FY 2022, these proposed numbers will likely come down in order to arrive at bipartisan support for the final bill.
We need you to continue to communicate the importance of programs and services for older adults, to ensure that your federal legislators understand the size and scope of aging services that are needed to help us all age with dignity in our homes and communities. Please continue to check AgeGuide‘s Action Alert page to help you connect with your elected officials on this and other critical issues.
