Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Act of 2025

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in hesitant support of H.R. 1663, the Veterans Scam And Fraud Evasion, or VSAFE, Act, as amended.

I fully support the intention of this bill and strongly encourage the Department to fully resource the VSAFE program established under President Biden. However, the actions taken by the Trump administration over the last year will significantly hinder the great work that has been accomplished by the VSAFE Task Force, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is, unfortunately, more pressing than ever.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, veterans reported some of the highest numbers of fraud complaints and greatest total losses in 2024, amounting to nearly $600 million. Veterans also continually face higher losses than their civilian counterparts, with median losses reported around $700, which is over $200 higher than the general population.

Both the FTC and CFPB have done important work in identifying the most pressing scams and fraudulent activities that target veterans and their families. These include scams like credit card fraud, investment schemes, and imposter scams, which seek to impersonate government officials, technology support, or even love interests to collect money or gain access to veterans' personal systems.

They have also identified the threat of multilevel marketing schemes and other ``business opportunities,'' like Amway, Mary Kay, and Herbalife, who regularly target veterans, servicemembers, and their families under the guise of patriotism, flexible hours, and financial independence.

I applaud my colleague, Representative Delia Ramirez, for offering an amendment to require specific trainings on these tactics to provide veterans and their families with clear, actionable guidance to protect their hard-earned benefits. It is unfortunate that this commonsense amendment was voted down by the Republican members of our committee.

Lastly, I find it ironic that these same Republican colleagues want to advance this legislation while our President actively dismantles the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the only agencies set up to protect military and veteran consumers. This is ironic.

Since its inception in 2008, the CFPB has returned more than $21 billion--that is billion with a b--back to consumers, which includes hundreds of millions of dollars to servicemembers and veterans impacted by violations of the Military Lending Act. Unfortunately, President Trump has determined that those who served our Nation no longer deserve protections against bad actors who seek to profit off their benefits.

As fraudsters' ability to create more complex scams and become more convincing in their deceit thanks to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, the time to create informed and resourced tools is now.

H.R. 1663 marks a step in the right direction, but I urge my congressional colleagues to do more to help protect our Nation's veterans against these scams.

In response to the chairman, let me just say that I did say that this bill was a step in the right direction, a step that could be a big leap if we all got behind bigger initiatives and called upon this administration to stop diminishing and diluting the power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The results of protecting military servicemembers and veterans by that particular agency are undisputed, and it became particularly impactful when it was in full force. The philosophy of this administration has been to diminish the authority and reach of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as the Federal Trade Commission, and our veterans are suffering.

In spite of this very small step we are taking with this bill, it is insufficient to take on the enormous challenge of fighting fraudsters in this country who will take advantage of those who have laid their lives on the line for all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I intend to vote ``yes.'' I yield back the balance of my time.

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