The Director of the Institute shall enter into cooperative agreements with, and make grants to, public and private nonprofit entities for the development or expansion of not less than 10 centers of excellence in geriatric research and training of researchers. Each such center shall be known as a Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center.
In making cooperative agreements and grants under this section for the development or expansion of centers, the Director of the Institute shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, any such centers are distributed equitably among the principal geographic regions of the United States.
For purposes of this section, the term “independence”, with respect to diseases, disorders, and complications of aging, means the functional ability of individuals to perform activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living without assistance or supervision.