[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H1761-H1762]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PROTECTING INDIAN TRIBES FROM SCAMS ACT

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1762) to direct the Federal Trade Commission to submit to 
Congress a report on unfair or deceptive acts or practices targeted at 
Indian Tribes or members of Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1762

       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 ``Protecting Indian Tribes 
     from Scams Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROTECTING INDIAN TRIBES FROM UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE 
                   ACTS OR PRACTICES.

       (a) FTC Report on Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices 
     Targeting Indian Tribes.--Not later than 1 year after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, and after consultation 
     with Indian Tribes, the Commission shall make publicly 
     available on the website of the Commission and submit to the 
     Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate a report on unfair or deceptive 
     acts or practices targeted at Indian Tribes or members of 
     Indian Tribes, including--
       (1) a description of the types of unfair or deceptive acts 
     or practices identified by the Commission as being targeted 
     at Indian Tribes or members of Indian Tribes;
       (2) a description of the consumer education activities of 
     the Commission with respect to such acts or practices;
       (3) a description of the efforts of the Commission to 
     collaborate with Indian Tribes to prevent such acts or 
     practices or to pursue persons using such acts or practices;
       (4) a summary of the enforcement actions taken by the 
     Commission related to such acts or practices; and
       (5) any recommendations for legislation to prevent such 
     acts or practices.
       (b) Increasing Awareness of Unfair or Deceptive Acts or 
     Practices Targeting Indian Tribes.--Not later than 6 months 
     after the date of the submission of the report required by 
     subsection (a), the Commission shall update the website of 
     the Commission to include information for consumers and 
     businesses on identifying and avoiding unfair or deceptive 
     acts or practices targeted at Indian Tribes or members of 
     Indian Tribes.
       (c) Commission Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade Commission.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 1762.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H1762]]

  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 1762, the Protecting 
Indian Tribes from Scams Act. The often-overlooked area in Federal 
fraud prevention efforts is scams targeting Indian Tribes and Tribal 
members. The scope and scale of scams affecting Indian Tribes have not 
been well documented, hindering efforts to prevent them.
  This bipartisan bill, reintroduced this Congress by Representatives 
Mullin and O'Halleran, will help get the needed information about fraud 
and scams targeting Tribes and members of Tribes. This bill directs the 
FTC to consult with Indian Tribes about these scams and then issue a 
report to Congress that will be made public. It also requires the FTC 
to update its website to include information on these scams.
  Mr. Speaker, as this pandemic continues, scammers are taking 
advantage of people's fear and uncertainty to steal people's money and 
commit fraud. American Indians are not exempt from these unfair and 
deceptive practices and may even be specifically targeted with certain 
kinds of scams. But there is not much information about it.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Representatives Mullin and O'Halleran for 
introducing this bill, an important step in helping prevent fraud and 
scams targeting Tribes and members of Tribes. I urge my colleagues to 
support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1762, the Protecting 
Indian Tribes from Scams Act. I want to thank Representative Mullin and 
Representative O'Halleran for their work on this particular issue. This 
bipartisan piece of legislation will help our Native nations.
  One area that can be overlooked in Federal fraud prevention efforts, 
Mr. Speaker, is scams targeting Indian Tribal members. The scope and 
scale of scams that target Indian Tribes have not been well documented, 
hindering efforts to prevent them.
  This legislation would direct the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission, 
to submit to Congress a report on unfair or deceptive acts or practices 
targeting Indian Tribes.
  Simply put, these scammers ruin lives, unfortunately. To address 
these scams properly, we must educate all Americans on how to avoid 
malicious scammers.
  This legislation passed the House last Congress, and I am hopeful we 
can again pass it today and get this legislation to become law as soon 
as possible. I can't think of a better person to sponsor this than my 
good friend, Mr. Mullin.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin).
  Mr. MULLIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of my bill, 
H.R. 1762, the Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act. The bill will 
help protect our Tribes and Tribal members from predatorial scams.
  Tribal communities have long been targets of fraud. Scammers often 
target vulnerable communities who receive trust or settlement payments, 
like many Tribes do. FTC data says that Tribe members are more likely 
to be the victims of scams and are less likely to report scams than any 
other group.
  H.R. 1762 will direct the FTC to study the types of scams that target 
Tribes and find the best ways to combat them.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Arizona for working with me on 
these issues, as well as many other issues important to Indian County. 
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I also urge support for the bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1762.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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