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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, The federal Older Americans Act has been the |
| 3 | | primary
piece of federal legislation supporting social and |
| 4 | | nutrition
services to Americans age 60 and older since 1965; |
| 5 | | and
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| 6 | | WHEREAS, Title III of the Older Americans Act establishes a
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| 7 | | grant system to fund programs that address the unique needs of
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| 8 | | vulnerable seniors, including both the Meals on Wheels Program
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| 9 | | and the Congregate Meals Program; and
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, The nationwide Meals on Wheels network, comprised |
| 11 | | of
5,000 local and community-based programs, receives 35% of |
| 12 | | its
total funding for the provision of congregate and home |
| 13 | | delivered
meals from the federal government by the U.S. |
| 14 | | Department of
Health and Human Services, Administration for |
| 15 | | Community Living; and
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| 16 | | WHEREAS, The number of seniors in our country will grow
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| 17 | | exponentially over the coming years and the Meals on Wheels and
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| 18 | | Congregate Meals programs are a proven public-private
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| 19 | | partnership that effectively addresses the challenges of aging
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| 20 | | by promoting health and improving the quality of life for our
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| 21 | | nation's most vulnerable seniors; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, These programs have the opportunity to not only |
| 2 | | keep
seniors in their homes, but also save millions in tax |
| 3 | | dollars by
keeping them out of more costly healthcare settings; |
| 4 | | and
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| 5 | | WHEREAS, In Illinois, the Meals on Wheels Program and |
| 6 | | Congregate
Meals Program both serve over 7.8 million meals to |
| 7 | | 118,000
seniors in a given year; and
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| 8 | | WHEREAS, On March 16, 2017, the Trump Administration |
| 9 | | presented a
budget blueprint that focuses on discretionary |
| 10 | | spending levels
for federal Fiscal Year 2018, and makes deep |
| 11 | | cuts to discretionary
programs, such as Meals on Wheels; and
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| 12 | | WHEREAS, The budget blueprint also calls for the |
| 13 | | elimination of
the Community Services Block Grant and Community |
| 14 | | Development
Block Grant, upon which providers of Meals on |
| 15 | | Wheels programs rely to administer their programs; and
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| 16 | | WHEREAS, The budget blueprint also contains a 17.9% cut to |
| 17 | | the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services budget,
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| 18 | | placing the programs at even greater risk of being cut; |
| 19 | | therefore, be it
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| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
| 21 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| | HR0274 | - 3 - | LRB100 12079 MST 24404 r |
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| 1 | | strongly oppose any and all efforts by the Trump Administration |
| 2 | | to cut the Meals on Wheels Program and Congregate Meals |
| 3 | | Program, eliminate the Community Development Block Grant, |
| 4 | | eliminate the Community Services Block Grant, and slash funding |
| 5 | | for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and be it |
| 6 | | further
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| 7 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be |
| 8 | | delivered
to the Illinois Congressional Delegation.
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