[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8478 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8478

 To amend the Investor Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010 to 
 provide grants to States for enhanced protection of senior investors 
           and senior policyholders, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2024

   Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. Nunn of Iowa) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Investor Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010 to 
 provide grants to States for enhanced protection of senior investors 
           and senior policyholders, 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 ``Empowering States to Protect Seniors 
from Bad Actors Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that 
        consumers reported losing--
                    (A) more than $10,000,000,000 to fraud in 2023, 
                marking--
                            (i) the first time that fraud losses have 
                        exceeded that amount; and
                            (ii) a 14 percent increase over those 
                        reported losses in 2022; and
                    (B) more money to investment scams (specifically, 
                more than $4,600,000,000) than any other category in 
                2023, which represents a 21 percent increase over those 
                reported losses in 2022.
            (2) Data from AARP, published in 2023, shows that 9 out of 
        10 adults in the United States encountered a fraud attempt in 
        the past year.
            (3) In 2021, AARP found that servicemembers are nearly 40 
        percent more likely to lose money to scams and fraud than 
        civilians.
            (4) For decades, State securities and insurance regulators 
        have been leaders in the effort to protect older and sometimes 
        vulnerable adults, including veterans, from financial 
        exploitation.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES FOR ENHANCED PROTECTION OF SENIOR 
              INVESTORS AND SENIOR POLICYHOLDERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 989A of the Investor Protection and 
Securities Reform Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5537) is amended to read as 
follows:

``SEC. 989A. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES FOR ENHANCED PROTECTION OF 
              SENIOR INVESTORS AND SENIOR POLICYHOLDERS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) the securities commission (or any agency or 
                office performing like functions) of any State; and
                    ``(B) the insurance department (or any agency or 
                office performing like functions) of any State.
            ``(2) Senior.--The term `senior' means any individual who 
        has attained the age of 62 years or older.
            ``(3) Senior financial fraud.--The term `senior financial 
        fraud' means a fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthorized, 
        or improper act or process of an individual, including a 
        caregiver or a fiduciary, that--
                    ``(A) uses the resources of a senior for monetary 
                or personal benefit, profit, or gain;
                    ``(B) results in depriving a senior of rightful 
                access to or use of benefits, resources, belongings, or 
                assets; or
                    ``(C) is an action described in section 1348 of 
                title 18, United States Code, that is taken against a 
                senior.
    ``(b) Grant Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall carry out a program 
        under which the Commission shall make grants, on a competitive 
        basis, to eligible entities, which--
                    ``(A) may use the grant funds--
                            ``(i) to hire staff to identify, 
                        investigate, and prosecute (through civil, 
                        administrative, or criminal enforcement 
                        actions) cases involving senior financial 
                        fraud;
                            ``(ii) to fund technology, equipment, and 
                        training for regulators, prosecutors, and law 
                        enforcement officers, in order to identify, 
                        investigate, and prosecute cases involving 
                        senior financial fraud;
                            ``(iii) to provide educational materials 
                        and training to seniors to increase awareness 
                        and understanding of senior financial fraud;
                            ``(iv) to develop comprehensive plans to 
                        combat senior financial fraud; and
                            ``(v) to enhance provisions of State law to 
                        provide protection from senior financial fraud; 
                        and
                    ``(B) may not use the grant funds for any indirect 
                expense, such as rent, utilities, or any other general 
                administrative cost that is not directly related to the 
                purpose of the grant program.
            ``(2) Authority of commission.--
                    ``(A) Public information.--In carrying out 
                paragraph (1), the Commission shall make public 
                relevant actions of the Commission relating to carrying 
                out that paragraph.
                    ``(B) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of 
                Congress that, in carrying out paragraph (1), the 
                Commission should use the authority of the Commission 
                under section 4A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
                (15 U.S.C. 78d-1) to delegate the functions of the 
                Commission under paragraph (1) to an employee or 
                employee board that has experience working with or for 
                State regulators on issues relating to the protection 
                of senior investors, including such investors who are 
                vulnerable.
    ``(c) Applications.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under this 
section shall submit an application to the Commission, in such form and 
in such a manner as the Commission may determine, that includes--
            ``(1) a proposal for activities to protect seniors from 
        senior financial fraud that are proposed to be funded using a 
        grant under this section, including--
                    ``(A) an identification of the scope of the problem 
                of senior financial fraud in the applicable State;
                    ``(B) a description of how the proposed activities 
                would--
                            ``(i) protect seniors from senior financial 
                        fraud, including by proactively identifying 
                        victims of senior financial fraud;
                            ``(ii) assist in the investigation and 
                        prosecution of those committing senior 
                        financial fraud; and
                            ``(iii) discourage and reduce cases of 
                        senior financial fraud; and
                    ``(C) a description of how the proposed activities 
                would be coordinated with other State efforts; and
            ``(2) any other information that the Commission determines 
        appropriate.
    ``(d) Performance Objectives; Reporting Requirements; Audits.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Commission--
                    ``(A) may establish such performance objectives and 
                reporting requirements for eligible entities receiving 
                a grant under this section as the Commission determines 
                are necessary to carry out and assess the effectiveness 
                of the program under this section; and
                    ``(B) shall require each eligible entity that 
                receives a grant under this section to submit to the 
                Commission a detailed accounting of the use of grant 
                funds, which shall be submitted at such time, in such 
                form, and containing such information as the Commission 
                may require.
            ``(2) Report.--Not later than 2 years, and again not later 
        than 5 years, after the date of enactment of the Empowering 
        States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act, the Commission 
        shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
        Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services 
        of the House of Representatives a report that--
                    ``(A) specifies each recipient of a grant under 
                this section;
                    ``(B) includes a description of the programs that 
                are supported by each such grant; and
                    ``(C) includes an evaluation by the Commission of 
                the effectiveness of such grants.
            ``(3) Audits.--The Commission shall annually conduct an 
        audit of the program under this section to ensure that eligible 
        entities to which grants are made under that program are, for 
        the year covered by the audit, using grant funds for the 
        intended purposes of those funds.
    ``(e) Amount of Grants.--The amount of a grant to an eligible 
entity under this section may not exceed $500,000 each year, unless the 
eligible entity serves as both the securities commission (or any agency 
or office performing like functions), and the insurance department (or 
any agency or office performing like functions), of a State, in which 
case the maximum amount of the grant may not exceed $1,000,000 each 
year.
    ``(f) Subgrants.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section may, in consultation with the Commission, make a subgrant, 
as the eligible entity determines is necessary or appropriate--
            ``(1) to carry out the activities described in subsection 
        (b)(1)(A); and
            ``(2) which may not be used for any activity described in 
        subsection (b)(1)(B).
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2030.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public 
Law 111-203) is amended by striking the item relating to section 989A 
and inserting the following:

``Sec. 989A. Grants to eligible entities for enhanced protection of 
                            senior investors and senior 
                            policyholders.''.
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