A new bipartisan U.S. Congressional caucus has been formed to bring more attention to the needs of people caring for elderly family members or disabled children or spouses.

Two senators, Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet and New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte, and two representatives, Tennessee Republican Diane Black and New Mexico Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham, today launched the Congressional Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) Caucus, says the AARP.

"The caucus will help bring greater attention to family caregiving and helping people live independently, educate Congress on these issues, and engage legislators on a bipartisan basis to help lead to solutions," says AARP, whose own poll says respondents feel that Congress should improve resources for family caregivers.

AARP says more than 40 million family caregivers provide about half a trillion dollars-worth of unpaid assistance per years that keep their parents, spouses and children from depleting their savings (if they have any) on nursing homes and other institutional treatments.

AARP says 64 percent of these caregivers use their own money to assist in the providing for their infirmed relatives.

Only one of the four members of the new caucus serves on a Congressional panel with a direct bearing on senior citizen matters: Bennett is a member of a Senate subcommittee on retirement security.

While tax breaks have long been the Holy Grail for potential federal assistance to caregivers, when asked neither Bennet nor Ayotte committed to supporting such assistance. “I’ve got to look at it,” said Bennet, who is a co-chair of the caucus.