The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging was initially established in 1961 as a temporary committee; it became a permanent Senate committee in 1977. As a special committee, it has no legislative authority, but it studies issues related to older Americans, particularly Medicare and Social Security. Prior to the passage of Medicare, the committee was studying health care insurance coverage for elderly American citizens. The committee conducts oversight of the Medicare program, Social Security and the

Older Americans Act The Older Americans Act of 1965 (, ) was the first federal level initiative aimed at providing comprehensive services for older adults. It created the National Aging Network comprising the Administration on Aging on the federal level, State Units ...

. Some of the issues that have been examined by the committee include unacceptable conditions in nursing homes, protection from

age discrimination Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler defi ...

, and pricing practices for

prescription drug A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The re ...

Members, 117th Congress

Historical rosters

115th Congress

116th Congress

Chairperson

Patrick V. McNamara Patrick Vincent McNamara (October 4, 1894 – April 30, 1966) was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1955 until his death from a stroke in Bethesda, Maryland in 1966. Early life and ...

(D-MI), 1961–1963 *

George Smathers George Armistead Smathers (November 14, 1913 – January 20, 2007) was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Florida in the United States Senate from 1951 until 1969 and in the United States House from 1947 to 1951, as ...

(D-FL), 1963–1967 * Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ), 1967–1971 *

Frank Church Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984) was an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Idaho from 1957 until his defeat in 1981. As of 2022, he is the longe ...

(D-ID), 1971–1979 *

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...

(D-FL) 1979–1981 *

H. John Heinz III Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and Republican politician from Pennsylvania. Heinz represented the Pittsburgh suburbs in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and ...

(R-PA), 1981–1987 *

John Melcher John David Melcher (September 6, 1924 – April 12, 2018) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Montana as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and as a United States Senator from ...

(D-MT), 1987–1989 *

David Pryor David Hampton Pryor (born August 29, 1934) is an American politician and former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as the 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 a ...

(D-AR), 1989–1995 *

William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1979) and Senate (1979� ...

(R-ME), 1995–1997 *

Charles Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, he ...

(R-IA), 1997–2001 *

John Breaux John Berlinger Breaux (; born March 1, 1944) is an American lobbyist, attorney, and retired politician who was a member of the United States Senate from Louisiana from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives ...

(D-LA), 2001Pursuant to John Breaux served as chairman from January 3, 2001 until noon on January 20, 2001. Larry Craig served as chairman from noon on January 20, 2001 until June 6, 2001. * Larry Craig (R-ID), 2001 *

(D-LA), 2001–2003 * Larry Craig (R-ID), 2003–2005 *

Gordon Smith Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics * Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church *Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician *Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...

(R-OR), 2005–2007 * Herb Kohl (D-WI), 2007–2013 *

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flori ...

(D-FL), 2013–2015 * Susan Collins (R-ME), 2015–2021 *

Bob Casey Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Penn ...

(D-PA), 2021–present

References

External links

Committee website

Aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. I ...

United States elder law 1961 establishments in Washington, D.C. {{US-Congress-stub Parliamentary committees on Healthcare