article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Holocaust Survivors Assistance Act of 2011''. TITLE I--PURPOSES; FINDINGS; DEFINITIONS; GRANTS SEC. 101. PURPOSES. The purposes of this Act are-- (1) to include ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors'' to the list of groups that receive preference for services as defined in section 305(a)(2)(E) of the Older Americans Act of 1965, (2) to designate within the Administration on Aging an individual to have responsibility for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors, and (3) to create a grant program to increase and improve transportation services for older individuals with preference to those older individuals who are Holocaust survivors. SEC. 102. FINDINGS. The Congress finds the following: (1) During the Holocaust, which took place between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 6,000,000 Jews, as well as millions from other targeted groups, were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. (2) Approximately 127,000 Holocaust survivors remain in the United States, and thousands pass away each year. (3) Holocaust survivors are getting older and frailer, and will be seeking additional support and assistance from social service providers to enable them to age in place. Providers face increased levels of demand from vulnerable individuals without any additional revenue to cover needed services. (4) All Holocaust survivors are at least 65 years old with approximately three quarters of them older than 75 and a majority in their 80s and 90s. (5) More than half of all Holocaust survivors who emigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union after 1965 fall beneath 200 percent of the Federal poverty threshold and constitute an extremely vulnerable at-risk population in the United States. (6) Holocaust survivors continue to live with the mental and physical scars of the unconscionable trauma caused by the Holocaust. (7) While institutionalized settings are beneficial for some older people, long-term care facilities can have an adverse effect on Holocaust survivors. For many Holocaust survivors, institutionalized settings reintroduce sights, sounds, smells, emotions and routines which can induce panic, anxiety, and re-traumatization as a result of experiences resulting from the Holocaust. (8) Approximately two-thirds of Holocaust survivors live alone and living alone is a risk factor for institutionalization. (9) Low income Holocaust survivors are more reliant on social service programs than most other older Americans, with proportionally more Holocaust survivors needing services such as personal care, home-delivered and congregate meals, transportation, counseling and mental health support. SEC. 103. DEFINITION. Section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(55) The term `Holocaust survivor' means an individual who-- ``(A)(i) lived in a country between 1933 and 1945 under a Nazi regime, under Nazi occupation, or under the control of Nazi collaborators; or ``(ii) fled from a country between 1933 and 1945 under a Nazi regime; under Nazi occupation, or under the control of Nazi collaborators; ``(B) was persecuted between 1933 and 1945 on the basis of race, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity, or other basis; and ``(C) was a member of a group that was persecuted by the Nazis.''. SEC. 104. ORGANIZATION. Section 305(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3025(a)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1)(E) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'' each place it appears, and (2) in paragraph (2)(E) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,''. SEC. 105. AREA PLANS. Section 306 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3025(a)) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)-- (A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'' each place it appears, (B) in paragraph (4)-- (i) in subparagraph (A)-- (I) in clause (i)(I)(bb) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'' and (II) in clause (ii) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'' each place it appears, and (ii) in subparagraph (B)-- (I) in subclause (VII) by striking ``and'' at the end, (II) by redesignating subclause (VIII) as subclause (IX), and (III) by inserting after subclause (VIII) the following: ``(VIII) older individuals who are Holocaust survivors; and'', and (C) in paragraph (7)(B)(iii) by inserting ``, in particular, older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``placement'', and (2) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``areas,''. SEC. 106. STATE PLANS. Section 307(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3027(a)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (4) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'', (2) in paragraph (16)(A)-- (A) in clause (v) by striking ``and'' at the end, and (B) by adding at the end the following: ``(vii) older individuals who are Holocaust survivors; and'', and (3) in paragraph (28)(A)(ii) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,''. SEC. 107. CONSUMER CONTRIBUTIONS. Section 315 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030c-2) is amended-- (1) in subsection (c)(2) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'' and (2) in subsection (d) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,''. SEC. 108. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. Section 372(c)(2)(A) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030s-2(c)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``individuals)'' inserting ``individuals and older individuals who are Holocaust survivors)''. SEC. 109. PREVENTION OF ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION. Section 721(b)(12) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058i(b)(12)) is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``or'' at the end, (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``or'', and (3) by adding at the end the following: ``(D) older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.''. TITLE II--FUNCTIONS OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATION ON AGING. Section 201 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(g)(1) The Assistant Secretary is authorized to designate within the Administration a person to have responsibility for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors. ``(h) It shall be the duty of the Assistant Secretary, acting through the person designated to have responsibility for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.''. TITLE III--ACTIVITIES FOR HEALTH, INDEPENDENCE, AND LONGEVITY SEC. 301. INNOVATION TO IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS. Part A of title IV of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3032 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 423. INNOVATION TO IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS. ``(a) In General.--The Assistant Secretary shall award grants or contracts to nonprofit organizations to improve and increase transportation services for older individuals, with preference toward those older individuals who are Holocaust survivors. The Assistant Secretary shall make grants or enter into such contracts for period of not less than 5 years. ``(b) Use of Funds.-- ``(1) In general.--A nonprofit organization receiving a grant or contract under subsection (a) shall use the funds received through such grant or contract to carry out a demonstration project, or to provide technical assistance to assist local transit providers, area agencies on aging, senior centers, and local senior support groups, to encourage and facilitate coordination of Federal, State, and local transportation services and resources for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors. The organization may use the funds to develop and carry out an innovative transportation demonstration project to create transportation services for older individuals. ``(2) Specific activities.--In carrying out a demonstration project or providing technical assistance under paragraph (1) the organization may carry out activities that include-- ``(A) developing innovative approaches for improving access by older individuals to transportation services, including volunteer driver programs, economically sustainable transportation programs, and programs that allow older individuals to transfer their automobiles to a provider of transportation services in exchange for the services; ``(B) preparing information on transportation options and resources for older individuals and organizations serving such individuals, and disseminating the information by establishing and operating a toll-free telephone number; ``(C) developing models and best practices for providing comprehensive integrated transportation services for older individuals, including services administered by the Secretary of Transportation, by providing ongoing technical assistance to agencies providing services under title III and by assisting in coordination of public and community transportation services; and ``(D) providing special services to link older individuals to transportation services not provided under title III. ``(c) Preference.--In awarding grants and entering into contracts under paragraph (a), the Assistant Secretary shall give preference to organizations and institutions that have previous extensive experience working with and conducting assessment of the needs of Holocaust survivors who are older individuals. ``(d) Consultation.--In determining the type of programs and activities used to improve and increase transportation assistance for Holocaust survivors, the Assistant Secretary shall consult with the individual designated by Section 201(h)(1) of the Act and with national organizations with special expertise in serving Holocaust survivors who are older individuals. ``(e) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant or enter into a contract under paragraph (a), an entity shall have previous extensive experience working with and conducting assessment of the needs of older individuals. ``(f) Report to Congress.--The Assistant Secretary with assistance from the individual designated by Section 201 (h)(1) of the Act, shall prepare and submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate an annual report on the status and needs, including the priority areas of concern, of older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.''.
summary: Holocaust Survivors Assistance Act of 2011 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to: (1) include specifically within its purview older Americans who are Holocaust survivors; (2) authorize the Assistant Secretary for Aging of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate within the Administration of Aging an individual who is to have responsibility for such individuals; and (3) create a grant program to increase and improve transportation services for older Americans, with preference for Holocaust survivors.