The Shame of Elder Abuse and the Silence of Washington

As we close the holiday season, we are reminded that one sad reality, elder abuse, takes no holiday. In fact, recent studies show that abuse of older adults, especially financial abuse, increases dramatically during the holiday season. Today, more than one in ten older adults will be victims of some form of elder abuse, with a collective loss of almost $3 billion a year.

Just before adjourning for the holiday, Congress passed a massive spending bill for the rest of this fiscal year. For the second year in a row, Congress failed to provide funding for the only comprehensive federal elder abuse prevention law -- the Elder Justice Act. This is both shameful and shortsighted. Less than two years ago, in a bi-partisan basis, Congress enacted the Elder Justice Act and signaled its recognition that elder abuse is a growing problem that requires a coordinated and comprehensive federal response to effectively combat it. This law simply authorizes funds. A second bill must be passed to actually put the law into action. President Obama asked Congress to provide $21.5 million in startup funds for the Elder Justice Act in his budget for 2012, and Congress ignored this request.

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The Shame of Elder Abuse and the Silence of Washington