Herb Kohl: “this amendment to S. Con. Res. 70 requests the Senate to take action to stop the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of…”

“this amendment to S. Con. Res. 70 requests the Senate to take action to stop the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable individuals who reside in the Nation's 17,000 nursing homes and receive services in thousands of other long-term care facilities. It proposes that the Senate reserve $160 million over 3 years in a deficit-neutral reserve fund to pay for a nationwide expansion of a successful background check pilot program enacted as part of the Medicare Modernization Act, MMA, of 2003. This seven-State pilot program has already prevented more than 7,200 people with records of substantiated abuse or a violent criminal record from working with and preying upon frail elders and individuals with disabilities. The amendment's reserve fund would be triggered only if the Finance Committee reported out legislation or submitted a conference report providing for a nationwide expansion of the MMA pilot program. If this occurred, the reserve fund amount would be offset by the Finance Committee. Today, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable individuals within long-term care facilities result in costly consequences or elderly or disabled victims, their families, and society as a whole.”