Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2008 --Continued--
Floor Speech
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008--Continued -- (Senate - October 23, 2007)
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Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I speak in regard to Senate amendment No. 3394, an amendment sponsored by Senator Clinton and I, which provides $10 million in funding--fully offset--for the Lifespan Respite Care Act. Currently, the House of Representatives fiscal year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education appropriations bill contains $10 million for this important program. However, the Senate's version contains no such funding.
As you know, the Lifespan Respite Care Act passed unanimously in the Senate last year and was signed into law by the President on December 21, 2006. This important program authorizes competitive grants to Aging and Disability Resource Centers in collaboration with a public or private nonprofit State respite coalition to make quality respite available and accessible to family caregivers, regardless of age or disability.
I know that my good friends Senator Harkin, the chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator Specter, the ranking member of the subcommittee, recognize that funding this program will be a win-win-win for everybody involved. Patients will be able to receive care in the home from loving, caring family members rather than in a nursing home. Family members will be even further encouraged to serve as a family caregiver knowing that services will be available to assist them. And, finally, the Federal Government and our health care system will recognize fiscal savings as more care will be given in the home by a family member rather than in the more costly nursing home setting. As we all know, given the aging baby boomer generation, the cost of Medicaid nursing home care is expected to be a primary reason of increased health care costs in the years to come. Funding the Lifespan Respite Care bill is one step in the right direction towards controlling these costs.
I encourage the chairman and ranking member to try to achieve $10 million in funding for the Lifespan Respite Care Act.
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