Senate Special Committee on Aging

The Senate Special Committee on Aging was initially established in 1961 as a temporary committee; it became a permanent committee of the United States Senate 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. Some of the issues that have been examined by the committee include unacceptable conditions in nursing homes, protection from age discrimination, and pricing practices for prescription drugs.

Members of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, 111th Congress
Democrats:	Republicans:
Herbert H. Kohl (Wis.), Chairman Ron Wyden (Ore.) Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) Evan Bayh (Ind.) Bill Nelson (Fla.) Thomas R. Carper (Del.) Bill Nelson (Fla.) Bob Casey (Penn.) Claire McCaskill (Miss.) Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) Michael Bennet (Colo.)	Mel Martinez (Fla.), Ranking Member Richard Shelby (Ala.) Susan Collins (Maine) Bob Corker (Tenn.) Arlen Specter (Pa.) Orrin Hatch (Ut.) Lindsey Graham (Sc.)

Previous committee membership

110th Congress (2007-2008)

Members of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, 110th Congress
Democrats:	Republicans:
Herbert H. Kohl (Wis.), Chairman Ron Wyden (Ore.) Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) Evan Bayh (Ind.) Bill Nelson (Fla.) Thomas R. Carper (Del.) Bill Nelson (Fla.) Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) Ken Salazar (Colo.) Bob Casey (Penn.) Claire McCaskill (Miss.) Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.)	Gordon H. Smith (Ore.), Ranking Member Richard Shelby (Ala.) Susan Collins (Maine) Elizabeth Dole (N.C.) Mel Martinez (Fla.) Larry Craig (Idaho) David Vitter (La.) Bob Corker (Tenn.) Arlen Specter (Penn.) Norm Coleman (Minn.)

109th Congress (2005-2006)

Members of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, 109th Congress
Democrats:	Republicans:
Herbert H. Kohl (Wis.), Ranking Member Russ Feingold (Wis.) Ron Wyden (Ore.) Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) Evan Bayh (Ind.) Bill Nelson (Fla.) Ben Nelson (Neb.) Thomas R. Carper (Del.) Bill Nelson (Fla.) Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.)	Gordon H. Smith (Ore.), Chairman Richard Shelby (Ala.) Susan Collins (Maine) James Talent (Miss.) Elizabeth Dole (N.C.) Mel Martinez (Fla.) Larry Craig (Idaho) Rick Santorum (Penn.) Conrad Burns (Mont.) Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) Jim DeMint (S.C.)

Contact Details

Committee Web site

• Staff office - (202) 224-5364

Articles and Resources

Wikipedia also has an article on Senate Special Committee on Aging. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.