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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 290 079 CG 020 442 TITLE Ability Is Ageless. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care of the Select Committee on Aging. House of Representatives, Ninety-Ninth Congress, Second Session. INSTITUTION Co:gress of the U.S., Washington, D.C. House Select CommittGe on Aging. REPORT NO House-Comm-Pub-99-599 PUB DATE 9 Sep 86 NOTE 103p.; Portions contain small/light print. AVAILABLE FROMSuperintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Ability; *Age Discrimination; *Aging (Individuals); Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Fe.aral Legislation; Hearings; *Older Adults; *Reti :ement IDENTIFIERS Congress 99th ABSTRACT This document presents the text of a hearing on the relationship of ability to age, in reference to removing age caps so that age will be irrelevent to getting and keeping a job. Statements by Representatives Ron Wyden, Claude Pepper, Ralph Regula, Bill Schuette, Jim Lightfoot, Ike Skelton, George Wortley, and Don Bonker are included. Testimony by witnesses who are themselves older adults is given by William H. Masters, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, Herbert Brown, Nellie Brown, Albert Sabin, Sam Freeman, Juanita Thornton, and Robert Butler. Testimony by these expert witnesses is provided: (1) Jack Ossofsky, president of the National Council on Aging' (2) David S. Liederman, executive director of the Child Welfare League of America and cochair of Generations United; (3) Donald K. DeWard, director of employment, the Travelers Co.;(4) Evelyn Smith, codirector of Retiree Job Bank; and (5) Alec Olson, administrator of Green Thumb, Inc. The appendix includes material submitted by Robert N. Butler on nutritional needs in relationship to aging, and statements submitted by older prominent Americans. (ABL) ********************************************************i************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 4,************************************************, ******************** ABILITY IS AGELESS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND LONG-TERM CARE OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON AGING HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NINETY-NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SEPTEMBER 9, 1986 Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Aging Comm. Pub. 99-599 U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement S EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) /Thisdocument has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily renresent official OERI position or policy U.S. GOVERNMENT P 'INTING OFFICE 05 -0080 WASHINGTON I.1986 For sal,. by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office US Government Printing Office. Washington, DC 20402 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 SELECT COMMITTEE ON AGING EDWARD R ROYBAL, t.:alifornia, Chairman CLAUDE PEPPER, Florida MATTHEW J. RINALDO, New Jersey, MARIO BIAGGI, New York Ranking Minority Member DON BONKF.R, Washington JOHN PAUL HAMMERSCHMIIYI, Arkansas THOMAS J. DOWNEY, New York RALPH REGULA, Ohio JAMES J FLORIO, New Jersey NORMAN D. SHUMWAY, California HAROLD E FORD, Tennessee OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine WILLIAM J. HUGHES, New Jersey JAMES M. JEFFORDS, Vermont MARILYN LLOYD, Tennessee THOMAS J. TAUKE, Iowa STAN LUNDINE, New York GEORGE C. WORTLEY, New Ysrk MARY ROSE OAKAR, Ohio JIM COURTER, New Jersey THOMAS A. LUKEN, Ohio CLAUDINE SCHNEIDER, Rhode Island BEVERLY B. BYRON, Maryland THOMAS J RIDGE, Pennsylvania DAN MICA, Florida JOHN McCAIN, Arizona HENRY A WAXMAN, California GEORGE W GEKAS, Pennsylvania MIKE SYNAR, Oklahoma MARK D. SILJANDER. Michigan BUTLER DERRICK. South Carolina CHRISTOPHER H SMITH, New Jersey BRUCE F. VENTO, Minnesota SHERWOOD L BOE1:LERT, New York BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts JIM SAXTON, New Jersey TOM LANTOS, Ctliifornia HELEN DELICH BENTLEY, Maryland RON WYDEN, Oregon JIM LIGHTFOOT, kr at GEO. 'V CROCKETT, JR., Michigan HARRIS W FAWELL, Illinois WILLIAM HILL BONER, Tennessee JAN MEYERS, Kansas IKE SKELTON, Missouri BEN BLAZ, Guam DENNIS M. HERTEL, Michigan PATRICK L SWINDALL, Georgia ROBERT A. BORSKI, Pennsylvania PAUL B HENRY, Michigan RICK BOUCHER, Virginia JIM KOLBE, Arizona BEN ERDREICH, Alabama BILL SCHUETTE, Michigan BUDDY MACKAY, Florida FLOYD SPENCE, South Carolina HARRY M REID, Nevada NORMAN SISISKY, Virginia ROBERT E WISE, JR., West Virginia BILL RICHARDSON, New Mexico HAROLD L. VOLKMER, Missouri BART GORDON, Tennessee THOMAS J MANTON, New York TOMMY F. ROBINSON. Arkansas RICHARD H. STALLINGS, Idaho FERNANDO TORRESGH., Staff Director PAUL SCHLEGEL, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND LONG-TERM CARE CLAUDEPEPPER. Florida, Chairman JAMES d FLORIO, New Jersey RALPH REGULA, Ohio. HAROLD E FORD, Tennessee GEORGE C WORTLEY, New York MARY ROSE OAKAR, Ohio JIM COURTER, New Jersey THOMAS A. LUKEN, Ohio CLAUDINE SCHNEIDER, Rhode Island DAN MICA, Florida THOMAS J. RIDGE, Pennsylvania HENRY A WAXMAN, California JOHN McCAIN, Arizona MIKE SYNAR, Oklahoma SHERWOOD L. BOEHLERT, New York BUTLER DERRICK, South Carolina JIM LIGHTFOOT, Iowa BRUCE F VENTO, Minnesota JAN MEYERS, Kansas BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts PATRICK L SWINDALL, Georgia RON WYDEN, Oregon PAUL B HENRY. Michigan IKE SKELTON, Missouri JIM KOLBE, Arizona DENNIS M HERTEL, Michigan ROBERT A. BORSKI, Pennsylvania BEN ERDREICH, Alabama BUDDY MACKAY, Florida NORMAN SISISKY, Virginia KATHLEEN GARDNER CRAVED!, Staff Director MARK I3ENEDICT, J D . Minority Staff Director 3 ,-i ^, I"1,.iJ 1,:.:1( CONTENTS MEMBERS OPENING STATEMENTS Page Chairman Claude Pepper 6 Ralph Regula 11 Ron Wyden 13 Jim Lightfoot 13 Ike Skelton 13 George C. Wortley 13 Don Bonker . 14 Bill Schuette 15 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Panel One: William H. Masters, M.D, sexologist and educator, St Louis, MO 16 Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, U.S.N., Ph.D., inventor of COBOL computer language, Arlington, VA 17 Herbert Brown, Ph.D., professor emeritus of chemistry, Purdue Universi- ty, West Lafayette, IN; and, winner of 1979 Nobel Prize in chemistry.... 19 Nellie Brown, national swimming champion, Alexandria, VA. 21 Albert Sabin, M D, n,icrobiologist and immunologist, developed the oral vaccine that helped eliminate polio in industrialized nations, Washing- ton, DC 25 Sam Freeman, attorney and marathon runner, New York, NY 26 Juanita Thornton, activist on behalf of the elderly, Washington, DC. 28 Robert Butler, M D , Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and director of geriat- rics and training, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 31 Panel Two: Jack Ossofsky, president, the National Council on the Aging, Washington, DC; .... ........ .. .... .. ..... 35 Druid S. Liederman, executive director, Child Welfare League of Amer- 1m, and cochair, Generations United, Washington, DC 37 Donald K. DeWard, director of employment, the Travelers Co.; accompa- nied by Evelyn Smith, codirector of Retiree Job Bank............ ..... 42 Alec Olson administrator, Green Thumb, Inc 52 I APPENDIXES Appendix 1 "A Discussion of I, Anent Needs and Nutritional Status in Relationship to Aging," by Robert N. Butler, MD 59 Appendix 2. Additional material submitted for the record. Pearl Bailey. 66 Theodore Bikel 67 George Burns .. 69 Julia Child. 72 Phyllis Diller 73 Hugh Downs..... 76 Bob Hope 77 Lena Horne 78 John Houseman 80 Ann Landers.. 83 W.H. Masters. M.D 85 James A. Michener .. 87 Mickey Rooney ... ......... 88 IV Page Appendix 2. Additional material submitted for the recordContinued Schuman ............. ......................... 92 EricWilliamSevareid ........... ............................ ......... ................... 94 Skelton ................ ..... ............. 95 SirRed Solt: ................... ...... 96 RayGeorgWalston ............. ....... 97 Robert Young .......... ....... 99 ft a O ABILITY IS AGELESS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1986 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SELECT COMMITTEE ON AGING, SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND LONC-TERM CARE, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9 a.m., in room 345, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Claude Pepper (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Members present: Representatives Pepper, Oakar, Wyden, Skel- ton, Sisisky, Regula, Wortley, and Lightfoot. Also present: Representatives Bennett, Latta, Hawkins, Schuette, and Bevil'. Staff present: 'Kathleen Gardner Cravedi, staff director; Melanie Mod lin, assistant staff director; Peter Reinecke, research director; Lillian Simmons, volunteer; Cindy Thomas, intern; Dr. Leonard Scherlis, consultant; and Mark Benedict, minority staff director. Mr. WYDEN. Mr. Chairman, before we begin today's committee meeting, I just wanted to very briefly discuss the worst kept secret in town, and that is that your many friends are here to celebrate your 86th birthday. Whenever Senator Pepper hE,3 another birth- day, I am reminded of what Robert Browning once wrote, "Come, grow old with me, the best is yet to be." Robert Browning notwith- standing, a lot of Senator Pepper's friends don't see how he can get much better. Now, as many of you know, the Senator is writing his autobiog- raphy in cooperation with Time magazine, and the wor:. we have gotten at the subcommittee is that the publisher has asked the Senator to describe his accomplishments. All of us who know Sena- tor Pepper know that Mr. Pepper is no a boastful or conceited man, but if the publisher insists on him describing