Last week marked the 60th anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA). On July 14, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law. Now, at a time when 10,000 Americans turn 65 each day, the Administration has proposed a budget that significantly slashes programs funded by the Act.
The OAA funds services for seniors such as family caregiver support, transportation assistance, meal delivery, and protections against elder abuse. A major reason for the law’s success is that it gives states flexibility in deciding where and how to use funds, but as a result many Americans aren’t even aware that the program they rely on is funded by the federal government.
OAA programs fund thousands of senior centers, Meals on Wheels, transportation to medical appointments, as well as the Medicare State Health Insurance Programs (SHIPs), Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs), the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), and the National Caregiver Family Support Program (NFCSP).
Workers who administer OAA programs were already reeling from layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in April that slashed 40 percent of staff from the Administration
for Community Living (ACL), which coordinates federal aging and disability policy. The Administration’s FY2026 budget will further compound their struggle to provide services by cutting $5 million from elder rights programs and completely eliminating funding for health promotion, disease prevention, and Aging and Disability Resource Centers.
“The Older Americans Act has served seniors well for sixty years,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “Lawmakers should be working to safeguard these programs with more funding instead of trying to cut them. As we fight to protect Social Security, we are also ready to mobilize our members to fight back against this proposal and defend the OAA.”
This was originally published in the July 18, 2025 edition of the Friday Alert. Read the full length version and see other Friday Alert editions here.
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