Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander and National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP) Executive Director Bob Blancato today issued the following statement regarding the partial government shutdown:
It is deeply troubling that Congress was not able to avert a partial shutdown and pass the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill that funds the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program.
Community-based senior nutrition programs rely heavily on federal funding and operate on razor thin margins. They’re still reeling from the previous shutdown, when a third of surveyed Meals on Wheels providers reported that they could not maintain services for a month without federal funding. Over the course of the historically long 43-day shutdown, local providers in communities across the country reported delays in receiving reimbursements for services already delivered, causing a severe financial strain and putting in harm’s way hundreds of thousands of vulnerable aging neighbors who rely on nutrition services as a lifeline. They cannot afford to endure this again.
While we recognize the complex circumstances behind the shutdown, we urge Congress to come together to pass the Labor-HHS appropriations bill separate from the Homeland Security bill. Separate passage of Labor-HHS funding will help ensure seniors across the country aren’t left worrying where their next meal will come from. To learn how you can advocate for the seniors in your area, head to: https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/email-congress/.