Rep. Karen Bass addressed the potential impact of government budget cuts and health care reform legislation on older adults during the 2011 Roybal Memorial Lecture at USC Town & Gown on Feb. 23.

Sponsored by the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging at the USC School of Social Work and co-hosted by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, the annual event commemorates the institute's namesake, honoring Edward Roybal's legacy as a passionate advocate for civil rights and equal opportunity, as well as services for the elderly.

"His fight for the rights of everyone who suffered discrimination, including our elders, made an indelible mark on our country," Bass said. "The work of the Roybal Institute is so important, especially today, since these are very difficult times for our nation and for our seniors in particular."

She said new reforms under the Affordable Care Act, which was passed last year, would help the increasing number of older adults who are struggling to pay for the rising cost of health care and basic necessities.

"It really is a crime to think that for too long seniors have had to choose between a meal and the medicine that they need," Bass said.

She voiced concerns that proposals to reduce the federal deficit and balance the budget would cut funding for initiatives that serve the elderly.

"A budget is a statement of values," Bass said. "It says a lot about who and what we value as a society."

Bass, the former Speaker of the California State Assembly, also raised concerns about the trickle-down effect of proposed federal budget cuts on state funding for services for older adults.

"We have one of the best examples of a home care system in the country," said Bass, referring to California's extensive elder-care services, which are facing significant funding cuts that could threaten their future existence. The California State Legislature is currently considering a proposal to eliminate the Multipurpose Senior Services Program and Adult Day Health Care.

Prior to representing California's 33rd congressional district, which encompasses USC and areas of South, West and Central Los Angeles, Bass made history when she became the first African-American woman in the country to lead a state legislative body.

Before she began her political career, Bass founded the non-profit organization, Community Coalition, worked for nearly a decade as a physician assistant and served as a clinical instructor for the USC Keck School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program.

The event concluded with the presentation of the inaugural USC Roybal Institute Community Partnership Award to Slettie Jones and the Pearmain Prize for Excellence in Research on Aging to James Jackson.

Jones, the corporate director for older adult services for Pacific Clinics and a licensed clinical social worker, has been instrumental in the development of mental health services for older adults in the greater Los Angeles area.

An elected member of the Institute of Medicine and a pre-eminent expert on aging and health among African-American populations, Jackson directs the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan—one of the largest and oldest academic survey and social research organizations in the world.

"[James Jackson] has made the most outstanding contribution that anyone has ever made to the social science of understanding African-American life in the United States in health," said William Vega, executive director of the USC Roybal Institute.