Older Americans Act

(noun)

The first federal level initiative aimed at providing comprehensive services for older adults.

Related Terms

Examples of Older Americans Act in the following topics:

  • Civil Rights of the Elderly

    • Due to demographic shifts, including increased life expectancy and high birth rates in the post-World War II era, the United States population has grown older in recent years.
    • Government policies throughout the twentieth century were aimed at meeting the unique needs of elderly Americans.
    • Roosevelt's Social Security Act funded medical care for aging Americans.
    • Johnson signed the Older Americans Act (OAA) into law.
    • Additionally, in 1967, Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

  • The Elderly

    • To qualify for these benefits, most American workers pay Social Security taxes on their earnings, and future benefits are based on the employees' contributions.
    • In 2010, more than 54 million Americans received approximately $712 billion in Social Security benefits
    • In 1965, Congress created Medicare under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide health insurance to people age 65 and older, regardless of income or medical history.
    • Compared to the rest of Americans, Medicare enrollees are disproportionately white and female (due to women's greater longevity).

  • Additional Factors: Gender, Age, Religion, Race, and Ethnicity

    • Senior citizens, people age 65 and older, also have high turnout rates of around 70 percent.
    • Discriminatory practices kept the turnout rate of African-Americans low until after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
    • In 2008, 48 percent of Asian Americans turned out to vote.
    • Candidates routinely aim campaign ads at the fast-growing Latino and Asian American populations.
    • Describe the voting patterns of various demographic subsets of the American electorate

  • National Security Agency Surveillance

    • Subsequently, in 2008 Congress passed the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Amendments Act of 2008, which relaxed some of the original FISA court requirements.
    • All wiretapping of American citizens by the National Security Agency requires a warrant from a three-judge court set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
    • FISA makes it illegal to intentionally engage in electronic surveillance under appearance of an official act, or to disclose or use information obtained by electronic surveillance under appearance of an official act knowing that it was not authorized by statute.
    • The legality of targeting Americans acting as agents of a foreign power and residing in this country has not been addressed by the U.S.
    • The first use was in September 1966, replacing an older seal which was used briefly.

  • Voting as Political Participation

    • A unique and special political act, voting allows for more people's views to be represented than any other activity.
    • The composition of the electorate has changed radically throughout American history.
    • Over 90 percent of Americans agree with the principle that citizens have a duty to vote.
    • Young voters are less likely to turn out in midterm elections than older citizens.
    • Notice the higher turnout rates for women, and for older people.

  • The First and Fourth Amendments and Issues of Terrorism and Security

    • The Fourth Amendment applies to governmental searches and seizures, but not those done by private citizens or organizations that are not acting on behalf of a government.
    • It does not apply to searches and seizures done by private citizens or organizations not acting on behalf of a government.
    • All wiretapping of American citizens by the National Security Agency requires a warrant from a three-judge court set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
    • After the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the Patriot Act, which granted the President broad powers to fight a war against terrorism.
    • The first use was in September 1966, replacing an older seal which was used briefly.

  • The 26th Amendment

    • The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
    • Eisenhower, in his 1954 State of the Union address, became the first president to publicly state his support for prohibiting age-based denials of suffrage for those 18 and older.
    • On June 22, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that required the voting age to be 18 in all federal, state, and local elections.

  • The Civil Rights Acts

    • The Civil Rights Act was followed by the Voting Rights Act, signed into law by President Johnson in 1965.
    • The Voting Rights Act outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African-Americans.
    • This was a principal means by which Southern states had prevented African-Americans from exercising the franchise.
    • It also eliminated literacy tests as a precondition for voting, effectively removing barriers to African American voter registration.
    • Compare and contrast the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act

  • Government in the English Colonies

    • Thus, Americans viewed their legislative branch as a guardian of liberty, while the executive branches was deemed tyrannical.There were several examples of royal actions that upset the Americans.
    • After the Boston Tea Party, Great Britain's leadership passed acts that outlawed the Massachusetts legislature.
    • The Quartering Act and the Intolerable Acts required Americans provide room and board for British soldiers.
    • American distaste for British government would lead to revolution.
    • Explain the reasons for the tension between the British empire and its American colonies

  • Civil Rights of Native Americans

    • Historical policies of American expansion have infringed upon the rights of Native Americans and have lead to long-term inequality.
    • Native Americans are people of indigenous American descent, including indigenous peoples within the boundaries of the present-day United States.
    • According to US Census data, 1.37% of Americans identify themselves as Native American.
    • Congress passed the Indian Civil Rights Act, which gave tribal members protections from both the U.S.
    • Despite these efforts, Native Americans still tend to have lower socioeconomic status and greater exposure to crime and abuse than other American groups.