[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 18, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2463-H2464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COVID-19 FRAUD PREVENTION ACT
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2959) to establish the Consumer and Investor Fraud Working
Group to help protect consumers and investors from fraud during the
COVID-19 pandemic, to assist consumers and investors affected by such
fraud, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2959
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 ``COVID-19 Fraud Prevention
Act''.
SEC. 2. CONSUMER AND INVESTOR FRAUD WORKING GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than the end of the 30-day
period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and
the Securities and Exchange Commission shall, jointly,
establish a working group to be known as the ``Consumer and
Investor Fraud Working Group'' (the ``Working Group'').
(b) Duties.--The Working Group shall facilitate
collaboration between the Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection and the Securities and Exchange Commission on--
(1) providing resources to consumers and investors to avoid
fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic;
(2) providing resources, including information on the
availability of legal aid resources, to consumers and
investors who have been adversely impacted by such fraud; and
(3) such other topics as the Working Group determines
appropriate.
(c) Coordination With Other Agencies.--In carrying out the
duties described under subsection (b), the Working Group
shall coordinate and collaborate with other Federal and State
government agencies, as appropriate.
(d) Quarterly Report.--The Working Group shall issue a
quarterly report to the Committee on Financial Services of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate on the progress of
the Working Group and summarizing--
(1) the resources made publicly available to consumers by
the Working Group;
(2) any public enforcement action taken jointly or
individually by any member of the Working Group;
(3) the number and description of consumer complaints
received by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and
the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding fraud
related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
(4) any other actions of the Working Group.
(e) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have any force or
effect on and after December 31, 2022.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Axne for her
leadership on H.R. 2959, the COVID-19 Fraud Prevention Act.
This bill would create a joint Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
and the Securities and Exchange Commission fraud working group to
better protect consumers and investors against fraudulent schemes
during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the wake of the pandemic outbreak in the United States last year,
millions of American families lost work and struggled to keep food on
the table, pay their bills, and a roof over their heads. As early as
April 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that more than 20
million workers had lost their jobs.
As consumers across the country struggled with their finances and to
stay protected against infection, predatory scammers and unscrupulous
actors have profited from consumers' concerns and anxiety.
Scams targeting consumers' economic stimulus payments and
unemployment benefits have delayed or prevented consumers from
receiving the resources that they desperately need.
At the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions
hearing held in March entitled ``Slipping Through the Cracks: Policy
Options to Help America's Consumers During the Pandemic,'' Carla
Sanchez-Adams, managing attorney with the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid,
shared the story of a client she called Ms. Y, who lost her job because
of the pandemic, fell ill from COVID-19, and became a victim of fraud.
Ms. Sanchez-Adams said: ``Ms. Y qualified for unemployment benefits
through the Texas Workforce Commission. Ms. Y does not have a bank
account, so her only option to receive her unemployment benefits was to
have the funds deposited on a prepaid card . . . '' The Texas Workforce
Commission ``disbursed $6,000 in unemployment benefits through the''
card. ``Soon after receiving her card, Ms. Y got COVID-19 and had to be
hospitalized. When she was released, she tried to access the funds . .
. and discovered there was'' not one single penny left. ``When she
called . . . to inquire about the problem, she was told that someone
had called, requested a new card be issued to an address in Michigan,
and that someone in Michigan had used all the funds.''
Ms. Y is, unfortunately, not alone in experiencing this kind of
shameless profiteering during a national crisis. Representative Axne's
bill would help ensure that consumers who have been impacted by fraud
can report it and have access to legal resources to combat it. It would
also provide coordination between the CFPB and the SEC to combat these
fraudulent schemes.
Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1400
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Iowa for reintroducing
this bill. There is no doubt that fraudsters and other bad actors have
been out taking advantage of consumers during the pandemic because they
are out taking advantage of consumers every day anyway. Moreover, many
of them are disproportionately targeting seniors.
The Federal Trade Commission, looking over the pandemic, has some
436,000 reports of fraud amounting to some almost $400 million. The
Securities and Exchange Commission has stopped 49 companies from
trading, suspended for concerns over misleading information. The
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB, has gotten almost half
a million complaints.
So this effort among the regulators that Mrs. Axne is proposing in
H.R. 2959 establishes the Consumer and Investor Fraud Working Group.
This working group includes representatives from the CFPB, the SEC, and
is established to help coordinate and share information across the
Federal Government.
The working group will focus on providing resources to consumers and
investors and help them avoid falling victim to the fraudulent schemes
and scams that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and after.
In addition, the working group will produce a quarterly report to the
House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee.
This will allow Congress to monitor its actions and resources as it is
made public.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of
my time.
Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers and am
prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time until Mr. Hill
yields back.
[[Page H2464]]
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Missouri for his
leadership today on these House Financial Services Committee bills. I
appreciate the hard work on a bipartisan basis on these measures. I
have no additional speakers on the Republican side. I urge a ``yes''
vote.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
Madam Speaker, the COVID-19 Fraud Prevention Act led by
Representative Axne would provide essential resources and support for
consumers and investors to protect them against fraudulent schemes that
have been rampant during this tragic pandemic.
The House passed this unanimously by voice vote in September of 2020.
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me again in
supporting this legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Chu). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2959, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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