[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 612 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 612

To protect the public, especially seniors, against telemarketing fraud, 
  including fraud over the Internet, and to authorize an educational 
  campaign to improve senior citizens' ability to protect themselves 
                      against telemarketing fraud.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 1999

     Mr. Weygand (for himself, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Gejdenson, Ms. 
Kilpatrick, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, Ms. Norton, Mr. Underwood, Mr. LaFalce, 
 Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. Ford, Mr. Baldacci, Mrs. Thurman, Ms. 
Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Green of Texas, and Mr. Smith of 
 Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
    Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To protect the public, especially seniors, against telemarketing fraud, 
  including fraud over the Internet, and to authorize an educational 
  campaign to improve senior citizens' ability to protect themselves 
                      against telemarketing fraud.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

              TITLE I--PROTECTION AGAINST SCAMS ON SENIORS

SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Protection Against Scams on 
Seniors Act of 1999''.

SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) telemarketing fraud costs consumers nearly 
        $40,000,000,000 each year;
            (2) nearly 10 percent of the 140,000 telemarketing firms in 
        the United States engage in fraud;
            (3) senior citizens are often the target of telemarketing 
        fraud;
            (4) fraudulent telemarketers compile into ``mooch lists'' 
        the names of potentially vulnerable consumers;
            (5) according to the American Association of Retired 
        Persons, 56 percent of the names on ``mooch lists'' are 
        individuals age 50 or older;
            (6) the Department of Justice has undertaken successful 
        investigations and prosecutions of telemarketing fraud through 
        various operations, including ``Operation Disconnect'', 
        ``Operation Senior Sentinel'', and ``Operation Upload'';
            (7) the Federal Bureau of Investigation has helped provide 
        resources to assist organizations such as the American 
        Association of Retired Persons to operate outreach programs 
        designed to warn senior citizens whose names appear on 
        confiscated ``mooch lists'';
            (8) the Administration on Aging was formed, in part, to 
        provide senior citizens with the resources, information, and 
        assistance their special circumstances require;
            (9) the Administration on Aging has a system in place to 
        effectively inform senior citizens of the dangers of 
        telemarketing fraud; and
            (10) senior citizens need to be warned of the dangers of 
        telemarketing fraud before they become victims.

SEC. 103. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this title through education and outreach to 
protect senior citizens from the dangers of telemarketing fraud and to 
facilitate the investigation and prosecution of fraudulent 
telemarketers.

SEC. 104. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 
through the Assistant Secretary for Aging, shall publicly disseminate 
in each State information designed to educate senior citizens and raise 
awareness about the dangers of telemarketing fraud.
    (b) Information.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall--
            (1) inform senior citizens of the prevalence of 
        telemarketing fraud targeted against them;
            (2) inform senior citizens of how telemarketing fraud 
        works;
            (3) inform senior citizens of how to identify telemarketing 
        fraud;
            (4) inform senior citizens of how to protect themselves 
        against telemarketing fraud, including an explanation of the 
        dangers of providing bank account, credit card, or other 
        financial or personal information over the telephone to 
        unsolicited callers;
            (5) inform senior citizens of how to report suspected 
        attempts at telemarketing fraud;
            (6) inform senior citizens of their consumer protection 
        rights under Federal law; and
            (7) provide such other information as the Secretary 
        considers necessary to protect senior citizens against 
        fraudulent telemarketing.
    (c) Means of Dissemination.--The Secretary shall determine the 
means to disseminate information under this section. In making such 
determination, the Secretary shall consider--
            (1) public service announcements;
            (2) a printed manual or pamphlet;
            (3) an Internet website; and
            (4) telephone outreach to individuals whose names appear on 
        ``mooch lists'' confiscated from fraudulent telemarketers.
    (d) Priority.--In disseminating information under this section, the 
Secretary shall give priority to areas with high concentrations of 
senior citizens.

SEC. 105. AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT GIFTS.

    The Secretary may accept, use, and dispose of unconditional gifts, 
bequests, or devises of services or property, both real and personal, 
in order to carry out this title.

SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 
1999 and such sums as may be necessary for succeeding fiscal years.

SEC. 107. DEFINITION.

    For purposes of this title, the term ``State'' includes the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin 
Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands.

            TITLE II--TELEMARKETING FRAUD OVER THE INTERNET

SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF CRIMINAL FRAUD STATUTE TO INTERNET.

    Section 1343 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by--
            (1) striking ``or television communication'' and inserting 
        ``television, or Internet communication''; and
            (2) adding at the end thereof the following: ``For purposes 
        of this section, the term `Internet' means collectively the 
        myriad of computer and telecommunications facilities, including 
        equipment and operating software, which comprise the 
        interconnected world-wide network of networks that employ the 
        Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any 
        predecessor or successor protocols to such protocol, to 
        communicate information of all kinds by wire or radio.''.

SEC. 202. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION SANCTIONS.

    The Federal Trade Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding 
to set forth the application of section 5 of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) and other statutory provisions within its 
jurisdiction to deceptive acts or practices in or affecting the 
commerce of the United States in connection with the promotion, 
advertisement, offering for sale, or sale of goods or services through 
use of the Internet, including the initiation, transmission, and 
receipt of unsolicited commercial electronic mail. For purposes of this 
section, the term ``Internet'' means collectively the myriad of 
computer and telecommunications facilities, including equipment and 
operating software, which comprise the interconnected world-wide 
network of networks that employ the Transmission Control Protocol/
Internet Protocol, or any predecessor or successor protocols to such 
protocol, to communicate information of all kinds by wire or radio.
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