Members of the Senate have voted unanimously to pass S. 995, the Senate’s version of the “Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act of 2019″ bill.
S. 995 would provide $50 million in state respite care grant funding from 2020 through 2024.
Resources
- The Congress.gov page for S. 995 is available here.
- The Congress.gov page for H.R. 2305 is available here.
- An article about the House version of the bill is available here.
The House passed its own version of the bill, H.R. 2035, by a voice vote July 24. That version would provide in state respite care grant funding.
The lead sponsor for S. 995 is Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Her bill has four cosponsors, according to the bill Congress.gov page: Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.
The House version was sponsored by Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I.
Respite care programs can pay for short-term home care or other short-term services for family caregivers who need to take time off.
Federal respite care grant funding expired in 2011.