Empowering States to Protect Seniors From Bad Actors Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 5914, the Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), my friend, for his work on this important legislation.

Protecting investors, especially the most vulnerable to financial crimes and fraud, is a bipartisan effort. In the great State of Arkansas, our seniors make up 17.4 percent of our population and, across the Nation, with 54 million seniors over the age of 65, senior investors are a frequent target of investment fraudsters.

It is especially important that we protect this population against fraud and punish bad actors, especially since these investors are largely on fixed incomes, living on their savings.

H.R. 5914 better equips State securities regulators and their enforcement and investigative arms to pursue, punish, and deter financial crimes and fraud committed against our seniors.

With this being a new grant program, important provisions have been included that require an interim and final report to the Congress. This will allow us to determine the effectiveness of this program before it is renewed.

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Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, let me again urge our colleagues to provide support for this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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