April 2, 2025 Advocacy Alert

Snapshot
(A 30-second read for busy people)

• HHS reorganization announced March 27. Read USAging’s response.
• On April 1, one-half of the Administration for Community Living’s staff were fired. Read USAging’s April 2 press release regarding our concerns.
• If you share USAging’s concerns about how the changes will affect the older adults and caregivers you serve, please let your Senators and Representatives know as soon as possible using the sample email below!

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As USAging has reported to members over the past week, the Trump Administration’s reorganization of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has led to the dismantling of the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), with one-half of its staff fired yesterday and its programs set to be spread across three other HHS agencies. (Read our March 28 statement on the reorganization.)
 
This dramatic reduction of federal staff supporting aging and disability programs raises urgent questions about how the OAA and other ACL programs that support older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers will be administered.

See USAging’s April 2 press release.

We encourage AAAs, Title VI Native American Aging Programs and other Aging Network entities and advocates to reach out to Congress to express your concerns about how this reorganization may affect your local programs, partners and, most importantly, the older adults and caregivers you serve!
 
Take Action Now!

STEP 1: Contact your lawmakers via email. You can use our Talking Points on the reorganization or simply use the email template below. You can find the contact information on your Members’ websites: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. 
 
STEP 2: Engage your provider network. Urge your vendors/providers, advisory board members and other important stakeholders to send their own emails to Congress. Forward this Alert to your networks or edit it to be best received by your agency’s advocates. 
 
Template Email

Dear [Senator/Representative LAST NAME]:
 
I am writing to express my agency’s concern about the recent reorganization of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the potential negative impacts on the older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers whom we serve every day.
 
[ADD INFO HERE ABOUT YOUR AGENCY, YOUR SERVICES AND HOW MANY CLIENTS YOU SERVE.]
 
To deliver these essential services in our community, we rely upon a bedrock of federal funding through the Older Americans Act (OAA). We are concerned that the HHS agency responsible for supporting and funding our local work, the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), has been dismantled and its staff halved.
 
With all of the 10 regional ACL administrator jobs eliminated, who will provide the technical assistance and guidance needed to ensure proper administration of OAA programs by our AAA and state agency?
 
With the budget staff gone, how will this affect the distribution of OAA funding to states? Any interruption or delay in this funding will create swift hardship on our agency and our community providers, followed by risks to the health, wellness and independence of the older adults and caregivers we support every day.
 
Our nation is aging at a historic rate and doing so rapidly. We cannot afford to reduce access to any aging services or destabilize community efforts to support older Americans. Any reduction in access would ultimately create situations in which older Americans are hungrier, less healthy, less safe and less independent—and their family caregivers are more burdened and stressed.
 
While we hope our worst fears are unfounded, we wanted to draw your attention to these major changes and how they may affect your constituents who benefit from these critical in-home, nutrition, transportation, case management, elder rights and caregiver supports. If you can provide any additional information on how the changes at HHS may affect our ability to successfully plan, develop and deliver OAA and other federally supported aging services, we would appreciate your response.
 
Sincerely,
[INCLUDE FULL CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOU AND YOUR AGENCY]

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If you have questions or concerns about this Advocacy Alert or USAging’s policy positions, please contact the USAging Policy Team, Amy Gotwals, Olivia Umoren and Seth Ickes at policy@usaging.org.