III 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 194 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 15, 2017 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Ms. Collins , Mr. Murphy , Mr. Grassley , Mr. Casey , Mr. Cotton , Mr. Tillis , and Mrs. McCaskill ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Designating June 15, 2017, as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day .

Whereas the Federal Government estimates that more than 1 in 10 persons over the age of 60 are victims of elder abuse each year; Whereas abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults in the United States goes unidentified and unreported due to an inability to report or a fear of reporting; Whereas only 1 in 14 cases of financial abuse of older adults is reported; Whereas at least $2,900,000,000 is taken from older adults each year due to financial abuse and exploitation; Whereas elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation have no boundaries and cross all racial, social, class, gender, and geographic lines; Whereas older adults who are abused are 3 times more likely to die earlier than older adults of the same age who are not abused; Whereas 1/2 of all older adults with dementia will experience abuse; Whereas providing unwanted medical treatment can be a form of elder abuse and exploitation; Whereas public awareness has the potential to increase the identification and reporting of elder abuse by the public, professionals, and victims, and can act as a catalyst to promote issue-based education and long-term prevention; Whereas private individuals and public agencies must work together on the Federal, State, and local levels to combat increasing occurrences of abuse, neglect, exploitation crime, and violence against vulnerable older adults and vulnerable adults, particularly in light of limited resources for vital protective services; and Whereas 2017 is the 12th anniversary of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: Now, therefore, be it