Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank the ranking member for his presentation and the gentlewoman for her…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank the ranking member for his presentation and the gentlewoman for her presentation. I am proud to support H.R. 2922, the Elder Abuse Protection Act, which has been supported by my colleague from Texas, the Honorable Sylvia Garcia. As Chairman Nadler said and detailed, the sheer number of elder abuse cases is astounding and shameful, and the pandemic has only worsened the economic and emotional circumstances that so many seniors face. This problem is particularly grave for linguistic minority groups. My hometown of Houston has a large Hispanic community, and I am particularly concerned with efforts to exploit my elder Spanish- speaking constituents. In Texas, 20 percent of Hispanics are 65 years or older. One study of this population found that limited English proficiency was a barrier to accessing medical and social services. That is why the thoughtful legislation offered by Congresswoman Garcia is so very important, and its time is now. I am an enthusiastic supporter of this bill because it would make permanent the Elder Justice Initiative in the Department of Justice and require it to translate into Spanish those resources the initiative makes available to the public. The cost of translating those educational materials is small compared to the benefit they would bring. It would be a modest undertaking for the Department of Justice, given that DOJ already has litigation translation services in place.…”