June 6, 2025
Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Ms. Craig, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Norton, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr. Carson, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Soto, and Ms. Friedman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To establish a task force to combat the rising elder abuse of LGBTQI+ individuals.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Elder Pride Protection Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Combating LGBTQI+ elder abuse task force
(a) Establishment
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a task force to be known as the Elder LGBTQI+ Defense and Enhance Resources (ELDER) Task Force
(hereinafter referred to as the Task Force
).
(b) Composition
The Task Force shall consist of members appointed by the Attorney General from both the Elder Justice Initiative and the Division of Civil Rights of the Department of Justice.
(c) Duties
The duties of the Task Force shall include—
(1)
studying the increased incidence of elder abuse perpetrated against LGBTQI+ individuals;
(2)
developing best practices for a national approach to combat such elder abuse;
(3)
developing best practices for State and local law enforcement agencies to deal with such elder abuse;
(4)
developing educational materials on how to prevent and respond to elder abuse of LGBTQI+ individuals;
(5)
distributing the materials described under paragraph (4); and
(6)
coordinating the response of local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies to combating elder abuse of LGBTQI+ individuals.
(d) Report
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Task Force shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report on the progress the Task Force has made in completing the duties assigned under subsection (c).
Sec. 3. Definitions
In this Act:
(1)
The term LGBTQI+ individual
includes any individual who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex or uses other terms used to describe being a sexual or gender minority.
(2)
The term elder abuse
means an intentional act or failure to act that causes or creates a risk of harm to a person aged 60 or older, including—
(A)
physical abuse when an elder experiences illness, pain, injury, functional impairment, distress, or death as a result of the intentional use of physical force and includes acts such as hitting, kicking, pushing, slapping, and burning;
(B)
sexual abuse involving forced or unwanted sexual interaction of any kind, including unwanted sexual contact or penetration or non-contact acts such as sexual harassment;
(C)
emotional or psychological abuse by verbal or nonverbal behaviors that inflict anguish, mental pain, fear, or distress, including humiliation or disrespect, verbal and non-verbal threats, harassment, and geographic or interpersonal isolation;
(D)
failure to meet basic needs, including food, water, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and essential medical care; or
(E)
financial abuse involving the illegal, unauthorized, or improper use of money, benefits, belongings, property, or assets for the benefit of someone other than the owner.