§242q–1 Membership

Summary

Creates a Task Force made up of top federal health officials, two House members and two Senators, and three members of the public. The federal members include leaders like the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Surgeon General, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, the Director of the National Institute on Aging (and other NIH directors as needed), the Commissioners for Aging and for Food and Drugs, the VA Under Secretary for Health, and the heads of SAMHSA, CMS, Social Security, and AHRQ. The Congress members are two House appointees (chosen by the Speaker with input from the Minority Leader) and two Senate appointees (chosen by the Majority Leader with input from the Minority Leader), with no more than one appointee from each chamber belonging to the same political party. The Secretary appoints three public members: one from a nonprofit for older Americans, one from a private voluntary health group focused on older people, and one from a nonprofit that does research on older Americans’ health and independence. The Secretary will serve as Chair through either the Assistant Secretary for Health or the Director of the National Institute on Aging. A majority of members makes a quorum, though fewer can hold hearings. The Chair must call meetings at least twice a year. Members who are not full‑time federal employees may be paid for Task Force work at a rate set by the Secretary but not higher than the GS‑18 rate under section 5332 of title 5, and they may receive travel and per diem as allowed under section 5703 of title 5.