Letter to the editor: Elder coalition commends U.S. Sen. Susan Collins

The bipartisan 3,000-member national Elder Justice Coalition commends U.S. Sen. Susan Collins for her sponsorship of the Stamp Out Elder Abuse Act – S.3594. The coalition worked closely with Sen. Collins, and a key motivation for this bill was to honor philanthropist Brooke Astor, a part-time resident of Maine who was a victim of elder abuse and financial exploitation.

The legislation directs the U.S. Postal Service to develop the stamp and use the proceeds from its sales to provide funding to augment the elder justice initiatives in two federal agencies.These programs include prevention, education, data collection, services to protect and support victims and demonstration projects, in addition to initiatives to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of elder abuse and financial exploitation.

As chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, Sen. Collins has held hearings and heard testimony on senior scams, financial exploitation by guardians and abuse linked to opioid addiction by caregivers and family.

We believe that passage of this bill is still possible this year. We thank Sen. Collins for her support in the fight against elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. She is a true leader in this field.

Robert Blancato
national coordinator, Elder Justice Coalition

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Letter to the editor: Elder coalition commends U.S. Sen. Susan Collins