Protecting Seniors From Scammers

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of my bipartisan, bicameral legislation, H.R. 5914, the Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act, which will help stop financial scammers from targeting vulnerable older Americans.

According to a report from the Senate Special Committee on Aging released last Congress, senior scams cost older Americans nearly $3 billion a year, often hitting their retirement nest eggs, not to mention the pain and anxiety you can't put a dollar figure on.

Additionally, a survey from the Investor Protection Trust found that last year about 7 million Americans reported being a victim of financial exploitation. What is worse is that only 1 in 24 cases of elder exploitation actually gets reported.

Millions of seniors across the country, including in my district in northern New Jersey--even my own mother of blessed memory--have been the victims of financial scams, and far too many have been cheated out of their retirement savings.

I remember my mom called me and claimed that I had messed up her tax return, and my mom wasn't exactly shy about that. Luckily, we figured it out and stopped that ``IRS agent'' in his tracks. Obviously, it was a fraudulent IRS agent. But how many others paid?

My bipartisan bill will create a new Senior Investor Protection Grant program to support State enforcement agencies and task forces charged with protecting and educating seniors on financial fraud. They will be able to hire additional investigative staff, invest in equipment and training for law enforcement, and better educate seniors on financial scams.

I am confident that with this work at the State level, with law enforcement and with more outreach to local communities and seniors, we can more fully fight back against these hucksters who are scamming our seniors.

My Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act is a key part of my senior security strategy, to make sure we are doing everything we can to end financial scams targeting our seniors, including stopping the unending stream of robocalls and unwanted text messages. It also builds on my bipartisan, bicameral legislation, the Senior Security Act, which the House passed last year, as well as my ongoing work to put an end to the annoying robocalls targeting our seniors.

It is time we acted. Older Americans have given so much to our great country. We should always have their backs and help protect them from predators who want to take advantage of them. It is incumbent on us to protect them from scammers and abuse and to make sure we do everything we can to stop robocalls. We have passed legislation in this Chamber to do just that.

It is time we make sure the Federal Communications Commission acts to hold all of those phone companies who are part of all of these robocalls accountable. It is time. That is what my Senior Security Strategy is all about and what this bipartisan legislation that the House will be voting on is also all about, protecting our seniors. They need a cop on the beat, and we are here today to do something about it.

I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in favor of my bipartisan bill to stop bad actors from cheating older Americans out of their hard-earned retirement savings and stand by our seniors when they need it most.

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