Florida Congressional Members Vow to Support RAISE Act

Updated June 10, 2016:

The following members from the Florida Congressional delegation have joined  RAISE Act author Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa) in co-sponsoring the bi-partisan bill:

• Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville)
• Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Miami)
• Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Orlando)
• Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Hollywood)

Sens. Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R) have previously stated they would support the bill.

 

Original Post, Dec. 10, 2015:

RAISE Act Passes Senate, Heads to House

Here’s good news for the nation’s 40 million family caregivers, including almost 2.7 million in Florida.

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Act, which calls for a national strategy to recognize and support family caregivers. It now moves to the U. S. House of Representatives for a vote.

“This bill supports love,” said Jeff Johnson, AARP’s Florida state director. “Millions of Floridians take on the responsibility of caring for their elders or those living with disabilities out of love. But the responsibilities they take on are often a tremendous challenge. This legislation would knit together resources at many levels to help those family caregivers keep going every day as they overcome those challenges.”

Johnson specifically thanked Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, one of the bill’s sponsors, as well as Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio for their support.

AARP endorsed the RAISE Act when it was introduced. The legislation would bring together relevant federal agencies and others from the private and public sectors, such as family caregivers, older adults and persons with disabilities, health care and long-term service and support (LTSS) providers, employers, relevant industries, state and local officials, and others on an advisory council to advise and make recommendations regarding the national strategy.

To date, 30 states have passed legislation to help family caregivers get needed training, advice and support as they take on increasingly difficult medical tasks, more flexibility in the workplace, and the opportunity take a well-earned break every now and then.

In 2009, more than 2.67 million Florida family caregivers provided 2.49 billion hours of care to adults with limited capacity to successfully handle with activities for daily living, according to a recent AARP Public Policy report. The economic value is $11.93 per hour, which totals $29.7 billion in free care.

Nationally, contributions by family caregivers in the United States in that year were about equal to the revenue of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer.