# 115-hr-4222: Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017

115-hr-4222, Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017, is a 115th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR); status Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-4222
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 115-hr-4222
- Congress: 115
- Title: Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017
- Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
- Introduced: 2017-11-02
- Sponsor: Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 29
- Policy area: Social Welfare
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017 This bill amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include the specific needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals among the "greatest social needs" served under that Act. An LGBT individual shall be considered a "minority" for purposes of services provided under the Act. The bill authorizes the Administration of Aging to designate within it a person with responsibility for addressing issues affecting LGBT older individuals. In addition, the administration shall conduct studies and collect data to determine the services needed by LGBT older individuals.  The administration shall establish and operate the National Resource Center on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging to provide national, state, and local organizations with the information and technical assistance needed by those organizations to effectively serve LGBT older individuals. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman of each state shall, as a condition of receiving certain federal funding under the Act,  collect and analyze data related to discrimination against LGBT older individuals in long-term care settings.

## Cosponsors (29)

- Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-22] (D-FL), 2017-11-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Crist, Charlie [D-FL-13] (D-FL), 2017-11-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frankel, Lois [D-FL-22] (D-FL), 2017-11-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2017-11-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Higgins, Brian [D-NY-26] (D-NY), 2017-11-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3] (D-OR), 2017-11-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2017-11-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lowenthal, Alan S. [D-CA-47] (D-CA), 2017-11-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Peters, Scott H. [D-CA-50] (D-CA), 2017-11-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2017-11-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Swalwell, Eric [D-CA-14] (D-CA), 2017-11-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Polis, Jared [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2017-11-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2017-11-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pallone, Frank [D-NJ-6] (D-NJ), 2017-11-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rice, Kathleen M. [D-NY-4] (D-NY), 2017-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9] (D-FL), 2017-11-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2017-12-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA), 2017-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- LOUISE SLAUGHTER (D-NY), 2017-12-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1] (D-ME), 2017-12-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2017-12-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] (D-IL), 2017-12-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] (D-MN), 2018-02-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2018-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (D-WA), 2018-04-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] (D-RI), 2018-07-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] (D-IL), 2018-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2018-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Shea-Porter, Carol [D-NH-1] (D-NH), 2018-09-04T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 115-hr-5087: Assault Weapons Ban of 2018
- 115-hr-4240: Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017
- 115-hr-3440: Dream Act of 2017
- 115-hr-1456: Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2017
- 115-hr-1235: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act
- 115-hr-502: Land and Water Conservation Fund Reauthorization and Fairness Act

## Sources
- [115-hr-4222 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4222)

## Related
- [115-hr-5087: Assault Weapons Ban of 2018](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-5087)
- [115-hr-4240: Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-4240)
- [115-hr-3440: Dream Act of 2017](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-3440)
- [115-hr-1456: Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2017](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-1456)
- [115-hr-1235: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-1235)
- [115-hr-502: Land and Water Conservation Fund Reauthorization and Fairness Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-502)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-4222 (as of 2025-11-18).