[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6954 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6954

To prevent mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors in 
 the United States, to promote efforts to increase public awareness of 
 the enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud have 
 on seniors, to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their 
 caregivers about how to identify and combat fraudulent activity, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2008

Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Smith of Texas, 
  and Mr. Scott of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was 
  referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 prevent mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors in 
 the United States, to promote efforts to increase public awareness of 
 the enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud have 
 on seniors, to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their 
 caregivers about how to identify and combat fraudulent activity, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The proportion of the population of the United States 
        age 60 years or older will drastically increase in the next 30 
        years as more than 76,000,000 Baby Boomers approach retirement 
        and old age.
            (2) Each year, anywhere between 500,000 and 5,000,000 
        seniors in the United States are abused, neglected, or 
        exploited.
            (3) Senior abuse, neglect, and exploitation have no 
        boundaries, and cross all racial, social class, gender, and 
        geographic lines.
            (4) Millions of individuals in the United States are 
        victims of financial exploitation, including mail, 
        telemarketing, and Internet fraud, each year. Many of those who 
        fall prey to these crimes are seniors.
            (5) It is difficult to estimate the prevalence of fraud 
        targeting seniors because cases are severely underreported and 
        national statistics on senior fraud do not exist.
            (6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation notes that senior 
        Americans are less likely to report fraud because they do not 
        know to whom to report, they are ashamed to have been a victim 
        of fraud, or they do not know that they have been a victim of 
        fraud. In some cases, a senior victim of fraud may not report 
        the crime because he or she is concerned that relatives may 
        come to the conclusion that the victim no longer has the mental 
        capacity to take care of his or her own financial affairs.
            (7) Perpetrators of mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud 
        frequently target seniors because seniors are often vulnerable 
        and trusting people.
            (8) As victims of such fraudulent schemes, many seniors 
        have been robbed of their hard-earned life savings and 
        frequently pay an emotional cost, losing not only their money, 
        but also their self-respect and dignity.
            (9) Perpetrators of fraud targeting seniors often operate 
        outside the United States, reaching their victims through the 
        mail, telephone lines, and the Internet.
            (10) The Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act 
        increased the power of the United States Postal Service to 
        protect consumers against persons who use deceptive mailings, 
        such as those featuring games of chance, sweepstakes, skill 
        contests, and facsimile checks.
            (11) During fiscal year 2007, analysts prepared more than 
        27,000 letters and informative postcards in response to mail 
        fraud complaints. During that same year, postal inspectors 
        investigated 2,909 mail fraud cases in the United States, and 
        arrested 1,236 mail fraud suspects, of whom 1,118 were 
        convicted. Postal inspectors also reported 162 telemarketing 
        fraud investigations, with 83 arrests and 61 convictions 
        resulting from such investigations.
            (12) In 2000, the United States Senate Special Committee on 
        Aging reported that, each year, consumers lose approximately 
        $40,000,000,000 to telemarketing fraud, and estimated that 
        approximately 10 percent of the Nation's 14,000 telemarketing 
        firms were fraudulent. Some researchers estimate that only one 
        in 10,000 fraud victims reports the crime to the authorities.
            (13) A 2003 report by AARP found that the crime of 
        telemarketing fraud is grossly underreported among senior 
        victims, but that those who are properly counseled by trained 
        peer volunteers are less likely to fall victim to fraudulent 
        practices.
            (14) The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that the 
        threat of fraud to seniors is growing and changing. Many 
        younger Baby Boomers have considerable computer skills, and 
        criminals are modifying their targeting techniques by using not 
        only traditional telephone calls and mass mailings, but also 
        online scams like phishing and e-mail spamming.
            (15) The IC3 is a partnership between the National White 
        Collar Crime Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
        that serves as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer 
        criminal complaints regarding cyber crime. The IC3 processed 
        more than 219,553 complaints of Internet crime in 2007. From 
        these submissions, the IC3 referred 90,008 complaints of 
        Internet crime, representing a total dollar loss of 
        $239,090,000, to Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
        agencies in the United States for further consideration.
            (16) Consumer awareness is the best protection from fraud.

SEC. 3. ENHANCED SENTENCING PENALTIES BASED ON AGE OF VICTIM.

    (a) Directive to the United States Sentencing Commission.--Pursuant 
to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, 
and in accordance with this section, the United States Sentencing 
Commission (referred to in this section as the ``Commission'') shall 
review and, if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and 
policy statements, including section 3A1.1 of the Federal sentencing 
guidelines, to include the age of a crime victim, particularly for 
senior crime victims, to ensure such guidelines adequately reflect 
Congress' intent that the age of a crime victim is one of the criteria 
for determining whether the application of a sentencing enhancement is 
appropriate.
    (b) Requirements.--In carrying out this section, the Commission 
shall--
            (1) ensure that the Federal sentencing guidelines and the 
        policy statements of the Commission reflect the serious 
        economic and physical harms associated with criminal activity 
        targeted at seniors due to their particular vulnerability;
            (2) consider providing, in appropriate circumstances, 
        increased penalties for persons convicted of offenses in which 
        the victim was a senior;
            (3) consult with individuals or groups representing 
        seniors, law enforcement agencies, victims organizations, and 
        the Federal judiciary as part of the review described in 
        subsection (a);
            (4) ensure reasonable consistency with other Federal 
        sentencing guidelines and directives;
            (5) account for any aggravating or mitigating circumstances 
        that may justify exceptions, including circumstances for which 
        the Federal sentencing guidelines provide sentencing 
        enhancements based on the age of the crime victim;
            (6) make any necessary conforming changes to the Federal 
        sentencing guidelines; and
            (7) ensure that the Federal sentencing guidelines 
        adequately meet the purposes of sentencing set forth in section 
        3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.
    (c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on issues 
relating to the age of crime victims, which shall include--
            (1) an explanation of any changes to sentencing policy made 
        by the Commission under this section; and
            (2) any recommendations of the Commission for retention or 
        modification of penalty levels, including statutory penalty 
        levels, for offenses involving seniors.

SEC. 4. GRANTS TO PREVENT MAIL, TELEMARKETING, AND INTERNET FRAUD.

    (a) Grant Program Authorized.--Subject to the availability of funds 
authorized to be appropriated under this section, the Attorney General, 
after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
Postmaster General, and the Chief Postal Inspector for the United 
States Postal Inspection Service, shall establish and administer a 
competitive grant program to award grants to eligible organizations to 
carry out mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud prevention education 
programs for seniors.
    (b) Eligible Organizations.--The Attorney General may award grants 
under this section to State Attorneys General, State and local law 
enforcement agencies and groups, senior centers, and other local 
nonprofit organizations that provide assistance to seniors, as 
determined by the Attorney General.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2009 through 2013.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATED TO NATIONAL SENIOR FRAUD 
              AWARENESS WEEK.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) there is a need to increase public awareness of the 
        enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud 
        has on senior citizens in the United States;
            (2) a week in the month of May should be designated as 
        ``National Senior Fraud Awareness Week'';
            (3) the people of the United States should observe National 
        Senior Fraud Awareness Week with appropriate educational 
        activities; and
            (4) the President is encouraged to issue a proclamation 
        supporting increased public awareness of the impact of, and the 
        need to prevent, fraud committed against seniors.
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