Historical Facts

The Older Americans Act

Historical Facts

           
In 1965 the Older Americans Act established State Agencies on Aging through a formula grant program.  With limited funds, these agencies were awarded grants to start local community projects to provide social services to older Americans.

As a prelude to enactment of the Older Americans Act (OAA), President Truman initiated the first National Conference on Aging in 1950, in response to the concerns of many groups that older people were not receiving their fair share of general-purpose service programs provided through the Social Security Act.  It was not until 1952 that the first federal dollars were appropriated for elderly social service programs as part of the Social Security Act.  Further interest in the field of aging led President Eisenhower to create a Federal Council on Aging in 1956 to coordinate development of the first White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA).

Legislation was proposed in 1962 to establish an independent US Commission on Aging, but the Kennedy administration objected to an independent Agency on Aging and the proposal was defeated.  Legislation introduced the following year would have modified the 1962 proposal by creating an agency equal in status to other major agencies in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (DHEW) now the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).  The 1963 proposal was also defeated.

The OAA proposal introduced in 1965 basically paralleled the proposed OAA of 1963.  Supporters emphasized that it would make available the resources required by public and private providers to meet the social service needs of the elderly.  After virtually no debate, Congress passed the Act and signed into law on July 14, 1965 by President Johnson, who hailed it as landmark legislation which “clearly affirms our nation’s high sense of responsibility toward the well-being of older citizens.”  He further affirmed that under the Act, “... every state and every community can move toward a coordinated program of both services and opportunities for older citizens.”