Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 2.djvu/272

 92 STAT. 1552

PUBLIC LAW 95-478—OCT. 18, 1978 (2) nearly 5,200,000 individuals fifty-five years of age or older had incomes below the poverty level in 1976, as determined by the Federal Government; (3) there is a great need to improve the economic well-being of older individuals; (4) there is a great need to make comprehensive and quality health care more readily available to older individuals; (6) there is a great need for expanding the availability of suitable and reasonably priced housing for older individuals, together with services needed for independent or semi-independent living; (6) there is a great need for a more comprehensive and effective social service delivery system for older individuals; (7) there is a great need for a more comprehensive long-term care policy responsive to the needs of older patients and their families; (8) there is a great need to promote greater employment opportunities for middle-aged and older individuals who want or need to work; (9) there is a great need to develop a national retirement policy that contributes to the fulfillment, dignity, and satisfaction of retirement years for older individuals; (10) there is a great need for a national policy with respect to increasing, coordinating, and expediting biomedical and other appropriate research directed at determining the causes of the aging process; and (11) false stereotypes about aging and the process of aging are prevalent throughout the Nation and policies should be developed to overcome such stereotypes. (b)(1) It is the policy of the Congress that the Federal Government should work jointly with the States and their citizens to develop recommendations and plans for action to meet the challenges and needs of older individuals, consistent with the objectives of this title. (2) In developing programs for the aging pursuant to this title, emphasis should be placed upon the right and obligation of older individuals to free choice and self-help in planning their own futures. AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY; F I N A L REPORT

White House Conference on Aging, 1981. 42 USC 3001 note.

Report to President.

SEC. 203. (a) The President may call a White House Conference on Aging in 1981 in order to develop recommendations for further research and action in the field of aging which will further the policies set forth in section 202. The Conference shall be planned and conducted under the direction of the Secretary in cooperation with the Commissioner on Aging and the Director of the National Institute on Aging, and the heads of such other Federal departments and agencies as are appropriate. Such assistance may include the assignment of personnel. (b) For the purpose of arriving at facts and recommendations concerning the utilization of skills, experience, and energies and the improvement of the conditions of older individuals, the Conference shall bring together representatives of Federal, State, and local governments, professional and lay people who are working in the field of aging (including researchers on problems of the elderly and the process of aging), and representatives of the general public, including older individuals. (c) A final report of the Conference, which shall include a statement of a comprehensive coherent national policy on aging together with

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