National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2025
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1469) to create an interdivisional taskforce at the Securities and Exchange Commission for senior investors, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1469
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2025'' or the ``Senior Security Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. SENIOR INVESTOR TASKFORCE.
Section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78d) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(l) Senior Investor Taskforce.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established within the Commission the Senior Investor Taskforce (in this subsection referred to as the `Taskforce').
``(2) Director of the taskforce.--The head of the Taskforce shall be the Director, who shall--
``(A) report directly to the Chairman; and
``(B) be appointed by the Chairman, in consultation with the Commission, from among individuals--
``(i) currently employed by the Commission or from outside of the Commission; and
``(ii) having experience in advocating for the interests of senior investors.
``(3) Staffing.--The Chairman shall ensure that--
``(A) the Taskforce is staffed sufficiently to carry out fully the requirements of this subsection; and
``(B) such staff shall include individuals from the Division of Enforcement, Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, and Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.
``(4) No compensation for members of taskforce.--All members of the Taskforce appointed under paragraph (2) or (3) shall serve without compensation in addition to that received for their services as officers or employees of the United States.
``(5) Minimizing duplication of efforts.--In organizing and staffing the Taskforce, the Chairman shall take such actions as may be necessary to minimize the duplication of efforts within the divisions and offices described under paragraph (3)(B) and any other divisions, offices, or taskforces of the Commission.
``(6) Functions of the taskforce.--The Taskforce shall--
``(A) identify challenges that senior investors encounter, including problems associated with financial exploitation and cognitive decline;
``(B) identify areas in which senior investors would benefit from changes in the regulations of the Commission or the rules of self-regulatory organizations;
``(C) coordinate, as appropriate, with other offices within the Commission, other taskforces that may be established within the Commission, self-regulatory organizations, and the Elder Justice Coordinating Council; and
``(D) consult, as appropriate, with State securities and law enforcement authorities, State insurance regulators, and other Federal agencies.
``(7) Report.--The Taskforce, in coordination, as appropriate, with the Office of the Investor Advocate and self-regulatory organizations, and in consultation, as appropriate, with State securities and law enforcement authorities, State insurance regulators, and Federal agencies, shall issue a report every 2 years to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, the first of which shall not be issued until after the report described in section 3 of the National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2025 has been issued and considered by the Taskforce, containing--
``(A) appropriate statistical information and full and substantive analysis;
``(B) a summary of recent trends and innovations that have impacted the investment landscape for senior investors;
``(C) a summary of regulatory initiatives that have concentrated on senior investors and industry practices related to senior investors;
``(D) key observations, best practices, and areas needing improvement, involving senior investors identified during examinations, enforcement actions, and investor education outreach;
``(E) a summary of the most serious issues encountered by senior investors, including issues involving financial products and services;
``(F) an analysis with regard to existing policies and procedures of brokers, dealers, investment advisers, and other market participants related to senior investors and senior investor-related topics and whether these policies and procedures need to be further developed or refined;
``(G) recommendations for such changes to the regulations, guidance, and orders of the Commission and self-regulatory organizations and such legislative actions as may be appropriate to resolve problems encountered by senior investors; and
``(H) any other information, as determined appropriate by the Director of the Taskforce.
``(8) Request for reports.--The Taskforce shall make any report issued under paragraph (7) available to a Member of Congress who requests such a report.
``(9) Sunset.--The Taskforce shall terminate after the end of the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this subsection.
``(10) Senior investor defined.--In this subsection, the term `senior investor' means an investor over the age of 65.
``(11) Use of existing funds.--The Commission shall use existing funds to carry out this subsection.''. SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.
(a) Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress and the Senior Investor Taskforce the results of a study of financial exploitation of senior citizens.
(b) Contents.--The study required under subsection (a) shall include information with respect to--
(1) economic costs of the financial exploitation of senior citizens--
(A) associated with losses by victims that were incurred as a result of the financial exploitation of senior citizens;
(B) incurred by State and Federal agencies, law enforcement and investigatory agencies, public benefit programs, public health programs, and other public programs as a result of the financial exploitation of senior citizens;
(C) incurred by the private sector as a result of the financial exploitation of senior citizens; and
(D) any other relevant costs that--
(i) result from the financial exploitation of senior citizens; and
(ii) the Comptroller General determines are necessary and appropriate to include in order to provide Congress and the public with a full and accurate understanding of the economic costs resulting from the financial exploitation of senior citizens in the United States;
(2) frequency of senior financial exploitation and correlated or contributing factors--
(A) information about percentage of senior citizens financially exploited each year; and
(B) information about factors contributing to increased risk of exploitation, including such factors as race, social isolation, income, net worth, religion, region, occupation, education, home-ownership, illness, and loss of spouse; and
(3) policy responses and reporting of senior financial exploitation--
(A) the degree to which financial exploitation of senior citizens unreported to authorities;
(B) the reasons that financial exploitation may be unreported to authorities;
(C) to the extent that suspected elder financial exploitation is currently being reported--
(i) information regarding which Federal, State, and local agencies are receiving reports, including adult protective services, law enforcement, industry, regulators, and professional licensing boards;
(ii) information regarding what information is being collected by such agencies; and
(iii) information regarding the actions that are taken by such agencies upon receipt of the report and any limits on the agencies' ability to prevent exploitation, such as jurisdictional limits, a lack of expertise, resource challenges, or limiting criteria with regard to the types of victims they are permitted to serve;
(D) an analysis of gaps that may exist in empowering Federal, State, and local agencies to prevent senior exploitation or respond effectively to suspected senior financial exploitation; and
(E) an analysis of the legal hurdles that prevent Federal, State, and local agencies from effectively partnering with each other and private professionals to effectively respond to senior financial exploitation.
(c) Senior Citizen Defined.--In section, the term ``senior citizen'' means an individual over the age of 65.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1469, the Senior Security Act.
According to the FBI, over 100,000 seniors fell victim to fraud and exploitation just last year. Their total losses were over $3 billion. Just last year, a senior citizen from my home State fell victim to an investment scam and lost over $5 million of his life savings.
Mr. Gottheimer's good bill addresses this issue head-on by establishing a dedicated senior investor task force within the Securities and Exchange Commission. They will monitor trends and threats and recommend policy changes aimed at protecting our seniors from financial exploitation.
This bill has enjoyed broad bipartisan support in prior Congresses. It helps ensure that our older investors are not left vulnerable in an increasingly complex marketplace.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill. H.R. 1469, SENIOR SECURITY ACT OF 2025 AS REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES ON JUNE 3, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By fiscal year, millions of dollars-- ------------------------------- 2025 2025-2030 2025-2035 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Direct Spending (Outlays)............... 0 0 0 Revenues................................ 0 0 0 Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit. 0 0 0 Spending Subject to Appropriation * * ** (Outlays).............................. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * = between -$500,000 and $500,000. ** = not estimated.
Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036? No.
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036? No.
Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply? No.
Mandate Effects:
Contains intergovernmental mandate? No.
Contains private-sector mandate? Yes, Under Threshold.
H.R. 1469 would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish and administer a task force to identify challenges faced by senior investors, coordinate commission activities with respect to senior investors, and consult with state securities and law enforcement authorities and insurance regulators. The task force would be required to report to the Congress every two years on its activities. The bill also would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to the Congress and the task force on the financial exploitation of senior citizens.
Using information from the SEC, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1469 would cost $8 million over the 2025- 2030 period. CBO expects that the SEC would need five employees, at an average annual cost of $330,000 for each employee, to administer the task force and report to the Congress. Because the SEC is authorized to collect fees each year to offset its annual appropriation, CBO expects that the net effect on discretionary spending over the 2025-2030 period would be negligible, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that authority. CBO estimates that the GAO report would cost less than $500,000; any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
If the SEC increased fees to offset the costs for rulemaking as required by the bill, H.R. 1469 would increase the cost of an existing mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) on private entities required to pay those fees. CBO estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would be small and would fall well below the annual threshold for private-sector mandates established in UMRA ($206 million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).
The bill would not impose any intergovernmental mandates.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Aurora Swanson (for federal costs) and Lucy Mallet (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis. Phillip L. Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office.
I thank my friend from New Jersey for this excellent bill. I know that Congress has consensus on it, and I hope that in this Congress it becomes law. I have spent a good part of my career both in commercial banking, investment management, and investment brokerage, and all through that time, the protection of our seniors was top of mind by leaders in all those enterprises. Yet, we still have this terrible problem across our country.
I think having this point person at the SEC will make it more responsive, more effective, do better training, and take better planning actions to protect our seniors.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from New Jersey and Mrs. Wagner for their leadership, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source