Senator Markey Celebrates Senate Passage of His “Caring for Caregivers” Agenda Provisions

Washington (July 15, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, applauded the Senate's unanimous passage of the Older Americans Act (OAA) Reauthorization Act, which included provisions from the Senator's "Caring for Caregivers" agenda and other bills to weatherize and improve the air quality of older Americans' homes, improve caregiver assessments used to identify barriers to resources, expand family caregiver supports such as respite care and peer support, and promote medically tailored meals and other Food is Medicine interventions.

"The work of family caregivers is personal to me. When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, my father cared for her in our home in Malden for thirteen years," said Senator Markey. "My provisions to expand family caregivers' access to peer and respite care, increase access to medically tailored meals, and weatherize older Americans' homes are the types of supports I wish my father had. I'm proud to have the full support of the Senate in advancing this legislation, and I'll continue working to make these programs a reality for the millions of caretakers in this country."

Senator Markey's provisions in the OAA Reauthorization Act include:

• Allowing home modification funding to be used for weatherization projects, based on his Home Modifications for the Climate Crisis Act.
• Improving the air quality of older Americans' homes and residences, based on his Home Modifications for the Climate Crisis Act.
• Amending caregiver assessments under the National Family Caregiver Support Program to improve the accessibility, quality of information, supports, and services, available to caregivers, based on his Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers (ABC) Act.
• Including peer support as an eligible supportive service for family caregivers, based on his Family Caregiver Peer Support Act.
• Including respite care as an eligible supportive service to promote convenience and accessibility for family caregivers to older adults who need long-term care, including individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, based on his Respite Care and Resources for Everyone (CARE) Act and the Convenient Care for Caregivers Act.
• Promoting the use of innovative nutrition interventions, including medically tailored meals, based on his Disease Intervention through Nutrition Education (DINE) Act.

In November 2025, Senator Markey reintroduced the "Caring for Caregivers" legislative agenda, a comprehensive family caregiving package that calls for the economic security, support, and health and wellbeing of family caregivers and their loved ones. In April 2026, Senator Markey introduced a package of legislation during Earth Week, including bills to protect seniors by enabling safer and more resilient homes.

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