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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The federal Older Americans Act has been the
3primary piece of federal legislation supporting social and
4nutrition services to Americans age 60 and older since 1965;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Title III of the Older Americans Act establishes a
7grant system to fund programs that address the unique needs of
8vulnerable seniors, including both the Meals on Wheels Program
9and the Congregate Meals Program; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The nationwide Meals on Wheels network, comprised
11of 5,000 local and community-based programs, receives 35% of
12its total funding for the provision of congregate and home
13delivered meals from the federal government by the U.S.
14Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for
15Community Living; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The number of seniors in our country will grow
17exponentially over the coming years and the Meals on Wheels and
18Congregate Meals programs are a proven public-private
19partnership that effectively addresses the challenges of aging
20by promoting health and improving the quality of life for our
21nation's most vulnerable seniors; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, These programs have the opportunity to not only
2keep seniors in their homes, but also save millions in tax
3dollars by keeping them out of more costly healthcare settings;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, In Illinois, the Meals on Wheels Program and
6Congregate Meals Program both serve over 7.8 million meals to
7118,000 seniors in a given year; and
 
8    WHEREAS, On March 16, 2017, the Trump Administration
9presented a budget blueprint that focuses on discretionary
10spending levels for federal Fiscal Year 2018, and makes deep
11cuts to discretionary programs, such as Meals on Wheels; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The budget blueprint also calls for the
13elimination of the Community Services Block Grant and Community
14Development Block Grant, upon which providers of Meals on
15Wheels programs rely to administer their programs; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The budget blueprint also contains a 17.9% cut to
17the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services budget,
18placing the programs at even greater risk of being cut;
19therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
21HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1strongly oppose any and all efforts by the Trump Administration
2to cut the Meals on Wheels Program and Congregate Meals
3Program, eliminate the Community Development Block Grant,
4eliminate the Community Services Block Grant, and slash funding
5for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and be it
6further
 
7    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
8delivered to the Illinois Congressional Delegation.