changes in the microvasculature. The program at Holifield is aimed at gaining an understanding of how normal body defense mechanisms, primarily immune surveillance against disease, are reduced in aging mice and hence make the old individual more prone to certain diseases that can incapacitate or kill. A part of the research is aimed at developing immune therapy to counteract reductions in body defense mechanisms by cell transplantation. This latter study is done in collaboration with investigators at the Gerontology Research Center in Baltimore. Since immune surveillance may play an important role in prevention of malignant diseases, including those induced by environmental agents, these studies are of interest to a number of agencies concerned with human health. At Argonne National Laboratory research has emphasized homeostatic control, localized in the brain, as a regulator of aging or lifespan. In this regard, studies at Brookhaven National Laboratory suggest that certain monoamines, fed to rodents, can increase their lifespan.

Parts of several research efforts at Holifield National Laboratory, the University of California at San Francisco, and Brookhaven National Laboratory involve studies to test the cellular hypothesis of aging using either in vivo or in vitro cell systems.

In addition to these studies, the ERDA has always sponsored small efforts in aging research in various university departments.

CLINICAL ASPECTS OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES

In addition to the aforementioned research areas, the ERDA Biomedical Program contributes more than 10 million dollars per year in research and development aimed at developing improved methods for the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases that contribute to morbidity or mortality of human populations, including the aging or aged. For example, at Brookhaven National Laboratory a segment of the nuclear medicine program involves clinical and experimental research on hypertension and senile osteoporosis as well as Parkinson's Disease.

SUMMARY

Although the ERDA has no specific mission in geriatric research, it is clear that the ongoing and planned research program contributes in a real way to understanding the relationships of disease states to reduction of lifespan. Information is generated at the theoretical, molecular, and cellular level, as well as the whole animal and human level, which will be valuable to understanding of this facet of the aging process in man.

ITEM 17. FEDERAL COUNCIL ON THE AGING

JANUARY 31, 1975.

DEAR SENATOR CHURCH: The Federal Council on the Aging herewith submits its report to you, for inclusion in your annual report to the Senate of Federal Units concerned with aging.

I speak for the Council in expressing appreciation for your continuing interest in the problems of the nation's elderly.

Sincerely,

[Enclosures]

BERTHA S. ADKINS, Chairman.

CALENDAR YEAR REPORT FOR 1974

The Federal Council on the Aging was created by the Congress under provisions of the 1973 amendments to the Older Americans Act, for the purpose of advising the President, the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Commissioner on Aging and the Congress on matters relating to the special needs of older Americans. Its establishment was an effort to respond to a broader range of problems affecting the elderly than had been possible within the scope of the predecessor body, the Advisory Committee on Older Americans.

The Older Americans Act directs the Federal Council on the Aging to perform the following functions:

(1) Advise and assist the President on matters relating to the special needs of older Americans;

(2) Assist the Commissioner in making the appraisal of the Nation's existing and future personnel needs in the field of aging;

(3) Review and evaluate the impact of Federal policies regarding the aging and programs and other activities affecting the aging conducted or assisted by all Federal departments and agencies for the purpose of appraising their value and their impact on the lives of older Americans;

(4) Serve as a spokesman on behalf of older Americans by making recommendations to the President, to the Secretary, the Commissioner, and to the Congress with respect to Federal policies regarding the aging and federally conducted or assisted programs and other activities relating to or affecting them;

(5) Inform the public about the problems and needs of the aging, in consultation with the National Information and Resource Clearinghouse for the Aging, by collecting and disseminating information, conducting or commissioning studies and publishing the results thereof, and by issuing publications and reports;

(6) Provide public forums for discussing and publicizing the problems and needs of the aging and obtaining information relating thereto by conducting public hearings, and by conducting or sponsoring conferences, workshops, and other such meetings.

MEMBERSHIP

The Council officially got underway with the approval by the Senate on June 5, 1974 of the fourteen persons nominated by the President on March 27, 1974. A fifteenth member has been added to the group to complete the number called for by Section 205 of Public Law 93-29. The Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Commissioner on Aging serve as exofficio members of the Council.

Nine members of the Council are themselves older persons. They and the other members fully represent older Americans, national organizations with an interest in aging, business, labor, and the general public as called for in the law. The Council roster is attached to this report.

COUNCIL SUPPORT

According to provisions of the Older Americans Act, the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Commissioner on Aging are to make available to the Council such staff, information, and other assistance as it may require to carry out its activities. This is done in a variety of ways. The Secretariat for the Federal Council on the Aging is located in the Administration on Aging. Initial staff was provided by transfer of the Staff Director and her secretary from the Advisory Committee on Older Americans. Two professional staff persons and a secretary have since been added. One more professional slot has been requested within fiscal 1975. Additional positions have been requested for FY 1976 when the Council expects to be operating at its full pace. The placement of the Secretariat in AoA and the Office of Human Development provides informal as well as formal utilization of their staffs and supportive services. The Committee Management office in the Office of the Secretary aids in carrying out the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Various units within departments other than HEW have given prompt response to FCA requests for resource speakers and materials.

Contractual and other short-term employees have been utilized to assist with certain FCA projects such as the Congressionally-mandated studies. The FCA budget for FY 1975 of $500,000 is provided as part of the AoA appropriation. The President's FY 1976 budget proposes the same level of funding as the previous year, but creates a separate line item for the FCA.

COUNCIL MANAGEMENT

Three meetings of the full Council and two meetings of the three committees which have been formed were held in 1974. Establishing these three sub-units of the Council was an effort to categorize and facilitate work on the sizable assignment given by the Congress. The Committee on Senior Services is headed by John Martin, former Commissioner on Aging. Nelson Cruikshank, President of the National Council of Senior Citizens and member of several advisory councils to the Social Security Administration chairs the Committee on the Economics

of Aging. A past President of the Gerontological Society and head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Washington, Carl Eisdorfer, chairs the Committee on Research and Manpower in the field of aging. These Committee groupings are not seen as permanent and will be rearranged from time to time to fit FCA priorities.

In addition to operational conditions and requirements set by its own legislation, the FCA is governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Complying with this law and its regulations as set forth by HEW and the Office of Management and Budget, the following actions have been taken and procedures established:

-All Council and Committee meetings are open to the public with advance notice in the Federal Register. Fifteen to twenty-five persons usually attend Council meetings as observers.

-About 150 notices of each Council meeting are being sent to national organizations in the field of aging, Federal and State government officials, members of the Congress and their staffs and individual citizens.

-Minutes of the Council and Committee meetings are distributed to the public upon request.

-Minutes and all other documents relevant to Council official actions are maintained in the office of the FCA Secretariat and are available for public inspection and copying. Copies are available under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

-Reports on Council activity appear regularly in AGING magazine and press releases are prepared on all major Council actions.

COUNCIL ORIENTATION

As a new entity concerned with developing priorities out of the broad mandate given by the Congress, the Federal Council devoted a considerable amount of time at both Council and Committee meetings in 1974 in learning about various Federal programs from the officials involved. They heard from the Commissioner on Aging as well as representatives of various units within the Administration on Aging, the Office of Research and Statistics of the Social Security Administration, the Assistant Secretary for Human Development, staff of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, HEW Office of Nursing Home Affairs and the National Institute of Health.

A wide variety of materials was assembled and distributed to Council members as part of a general orientation to their mission.

CONGRESSIONAL STUDIES

As described earlier in this report, the Congress directed that the Council should undertake three specific studies.

A study on State formulae for funding programs under the Older Americans Act was carried out by an outside contractor under the supervision of the FCA Committee on Senior Services. At the December meeting of the Council, recommendations proposing changes in the State formulae based on the study were proposed by the Committee and adopted by the Council at its December 5-6 meeting. As called for in the Act, a report containing the recommendations of the Council and relevant parts of the study was submitted on December 30, 1974 to the Commissioner on Aging, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives.

At the request of the Commissioner on Aging, the scope of the Formulae study had been expanded beyond the effects of the formulae specified in Section 303 to include the funding of planning, coordination, evaluation and administration of State plans in Section 306 and the funding of nutrition programs in Section 703. The major FCA recommendation was that the factor of "the population aged 60 or over who are living in poor households" should be added to the factor of the number of State residents aged 60 or over in all the present State allotment formulae in the Older Americans Act. Several recommendations were also made concerning increases and modifications in State administrative funding.

Work is underway on the two other studies mandated by the Congress. These were to have been completed by January 1, 1975 but, with the delay in processing

FCA membership, postponement for one year has been requested in S. 599 introduced in the Senate February 7, 1975.

The study on the interrelationships of benefit programs for the elderly operated by Federal, State and local government agencies will be carried out by outside contractors. The work statement has been developed by FCA staff, in concert with FCA members, out of contacts with a wide range of experts in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. There has also been several consultations with the staff of the Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy of the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress.

The study of the combined impact of all taxes on the elderly has been assigned to the FCAS Committee on the Economics of Aging. There has been consultation with governmental and nongovernmental sources on obtaining basic data on tax expenditures of the elderly. The Census Bureau has been developing material for the Treasury Department which seems to be the most pertinent. The availability of these data is determining the pace of FCA actions on this Congressional mandate.

POLICY POSITIONS

Since confirmation of its members by the Senate in June 1974, the Council has attempted to carry out the goals set for it by Congress, namely, to speak out for the older citizens of this nation at the Federal level.

Positions have been taken on a number of matters and communicated to the President, the Congress, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, other Federal officials and the general public. As a result of the September 10, 11, meeting, recommendations were made to the President and to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Commissioner on Aging concerning: Setting the Intermediate Budget level of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for older retired persons as the standard for national income policy for older Americans, (in autumn of 1973 this figure was $5414 U.S. average for retired urban couples).

Giving appropriate attention to the employment of persons 55 years of age or older in implementing the Comprehensive Employment Act with regulations providing for projects for the elderly;

Funding of senior employment programs under Title IX of the Older Americans

Act;

Maintaining the level of funding for Senior Opportunities and Services in order to meet the needs of the elderly for social services, in any pending legislation affecting OEO programs;

Urging the continuation of the back-up function providing research support for legal services programs for the elderly as part of the mission of the Legal Services Corporation;

Provide legal services for the elderly in all community programs conducted under the auspices of the Legal Services Corporation;

Nominate to the board of the Legal Services Corporation persons fully representing the multi-faceted legal services needs of the elderly.

Following the December 5-6 meeting, the Council expressed to the President and to the Congress their deep concern about the financial burden that would fall on the elderly as a result of proposed fiscal year 1975 budgets cuts, in particular, the additional costs that would have to be borne by the aged in relation to Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps.

Roy Ash, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, responded for the President, acknowledging awareness of the Council's concern. Mr. Ash stated that benefits for those in need, including the elderly, would rise substantially over fiscal year 1974 in fiscal 1975.

Strong opposition to the Holt-Helms amendments to Labor-HEW appropriations Bill was expressed to Congress by the Council, terming the amendments an impediment to improving the status of older women and minority group members. The Council also took action at its December meeting, in letters to the President, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and other Administration officials, endorsing the concept of a World Assembly on Aging, possibly in conjunction with a World Year on the Aging under the auspices of the United Nations. Favorable reaction was received from the White House, the Department of State and DHEW, to exploring the feasibility of such action.

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HEARINGS

As directed by the Older Americans Act provisions regarding the Federal Council, two hearings were conducted during 1974 to "provide public forums for discussing and publicizing the problems and needs of the aging." A hearing conducted by the Council's Committee on Aging Research and Manpower was held on October 31st in Portland, Oregon. The date and location were chosen to coincide with the combined annual meeting of the Gerontological Society and the American Geriatrics Society. Leading gerontologists were asked to provide their assessments of research activities in the field of aging to give guidance to the Federal Council on the Aging in their monitoring responsibilities relative to Federal research programs.

The second hearing was conducted by the Committee on Senior Services as part of the development of the recommendations regarding revisions to State formulae for funding programs of the Older Americans Act. Only a few State agencies on aging were able to send representatives to Washington but many more provided valuable written comments which were included in the final report of the Council.

CHAIRMAN'S ACTIVITIES

As part of the general responsibility of the Federal Council on the Aging to make the public more aware of the needs and contributions of older Americans, the Chairman participated in a number of activities. Her major engagements included:

Moderator of ten television programs produced by the Administration on Aging for the NBC "Knowledge" series;

Rapporteur for the section on the Elderly at the HEW-Congressional Conference on Inflation on Health, Education, and Income Security and Social Services; Speaker at the Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs national conference entitled "Old Age-A New Look."

COUNCIL AGENDA-1975

Developing priorities for the Federal Council on the Aging, aside from the specific assignments given by Congress, has been a difficult task. There are so many matters affecting the elderly that demand attention at the national level. The Federal Council does not want to be a passive advisory body but neither does it want to be a chatterbox for superficial criticisms and proposals nor just an endorser of what others say about older Americans.

While there will be continued work on short-range and mid-range problems and observations on the implementation of Federal laws and programs, it was determined at the December meeting to focus on two long-range matters affecting the elderly that are not yet receiving the prominence of national policy debate which they deserve.

The target group has been narrowed to persons usually but not always over the age of 75 who require one or several supportive services in order to cope with daily life. They are expected to become a sizable percentage of this country's population well before the end of this century. Today, they are referred to in such problem areas as "nursing home reform", "alternatives to institutionalization", "community care", "home care" and "isolation".

The Council hopes to focus national attention on the policy issues inherent in the needs of this vulnerable population with their long-term and costly requirements for support services.

At the next regular meeting of the Council in March, a group of experts will be invited to attend to help in further defining the issue and in determining the unique and specific actions the Federal Council might carry on to stimulate attention to this major national dilemma.

At the next regular meeting of the Council in March, a group of experts will share their thinking on the second priority of the FCA. It is important that an income assurance system for this nation's elderly be developed which successfully integrates Supplemental Security Income, Social Security payments, private pensions with appropriate Federal safeguards and other private income sources. The Council wants all older persons to have a solid income flow but it is imperative that financial security be assured to the most vulnerable and fragile of the nation's elders.