[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10225-10228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        SENIOR SAFE ACT OF 2016

  Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4538) to provide immunity from suit for certain individuals 
who disclose potential examples of financial exploitation of senior 
citizens, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4538

       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 Safe Act of 2016''.

     SEC. 2. IMMUNITY.

       (a) Definitions.--In this Act--
       (1) the term ``Bank Secrecy Act Officer'' means an 
     individual responsible for ensuring compliance with the 
     requirements mandated by subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 
     31, United States Code;
       (2) the term ``broker-dealer'' means a broker or dealer, as 
     those terms are defined, respectively, in section 3(a) of the 
     Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a));
       (3) the term ``covered agency'' means--
       (A) a State financial regulatory agency, including a State 
     securities or law enforcement authority and a State insurance 
     regulator;
       (B) each of the Federal financial institutions regulatory 
     agencies;
       (C) the Securities and Exchange Commission;
       (D) a law enforcement agency;
       (E) and State or local agency responsible for administering 
     adult protective service laws; and

[[Page 10226]]

       (F) a State attorney general.
       (4) the term ``covered financial institution'' means--
       (A) a credit union;
       (B) a depository institution;
       (C) an investment advisor;
       (D) a broker-dealer;
       (E) an insurance company; and
       (F) a State attorney general.
       (5) the term ``credit union'' means a Federal credit union, 
     State credit union, or State-chartered credit union, as those 
     terms are defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union 
     Act (12 U.S.C. 1752);
       (6) the term ``depository institution'' has the meaning 
     given the term in section 3(c) of the Federal Deposit 
     Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(c));
       (7) the term ``exploitation'' means the fraudulent or 
     otherwise illegal, unauthorized, or improper act or process 
     of an individual, including a caregiver or fiduciary, that--
       (A) uses the resources of a senior citizen for monetary 
     personal benefit, profit, or gain; or
       (B) results in depriving a senior citizen of rightful 
     access to or use of benefits, resources, belongings or 
     assets;
       (8) the term ``Federal financial institutions regulatory 
     agencies'' has the meaning given the term in section 1003 of 
     the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 
     1978 (12 U.S.C. 3302);
       (9) the term ``investment adviser'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 202 of the Investment Advisers Act of 
     1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-2);
       (10) the term ``insurance company'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 2(a) of the Investment Company Act of 
     1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-2(a));
       (11) the term ``registered representative'' means an 
     individual who represents a broker-dealer in effecting or 
     attempting to affect a purchase or sale of securities;
       (12) the term ``senior citizen'' means an individual who is 
     not less than 65 years of age;
       (13) the term ``State insurance regulator'' has the meaning 
     given such term in section 315 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 6735); and
       (14) the term ``State securities or law enforcement 
     authority'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     24(f)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
     78x(f)(4)).
       (b) Immunity From Suit.--
       (1) Immunity for individuals.--An individual who has 
     received the training described in section 3 shall not be 
     liable, including in any civil or administrative proceeding, 
     for disclosing the possible exploitation of a senior citizen 
     to a covered agency if the individual, at the time of the 
     disclosure--
       (A) served as a supervisor, compliance officer (including a 
     Bank Secrecy Act Officer), or registered representative for a 
     covered financial institution; and
       (B) made the disclosure with reasonable care including 
     reasonable efforts to avoid disclosure other than to a 
     covered agency.
       (2) Immunity for covered financial institutions.--A covered 
     financial institution shall not be liable, including in any 
     civil or administrative proceeding, for a disclosure made by 
     an individual described in paragraph (1) if--
       (A) the individual was employed by, or, in the case of a 
     registered representative, affiliated or associated with, the 
     covered financial institution at the time of the disclosure; 
     and
       (B) before the time of the disclosure, the covered 
     financial institution provided the training described in 
     section 3 to each individual described in section 3(a).

     SEC. 3. TRAINING REQUIRED.

       (a) In General.--A covered financial institution may 
     provide training described in subsection (b)(1) to each 
     officer or employee of, or registered representative 
     affiliated or associated with, the covered financial 
     institution who--
       (1) is described in section 2(b)(1)(A);
       (2) may come into contact with a senior citizen as a 
     regular part of the duties of the officer, employee, or 
     registered representative; or
       (3) may review or approve the financial documents, records, 
     or transactions of a senior citizen in connection with 
     providing financial services to a senior citizen.
       (b) Training.--
       (1) In general.--The training described in this paragraph 
     shall--
       (A) instruct any individual attending the training on how 
     to identify and report the suspected exploitation of a senior 
     citizen;
       (B) discuss the need to protect the privacy and respect the 
     integrity of each individual customer of a covered financial 
     institution; and
       (C) be appropriate to the job responsibilities of the 
     individual attending the training.
       (2) Timing.--The training required under subsection (a) 
     shall be provided as soon as reasonably practicable but not 
     later than 1 year after the date on which an officer, 
     employee, or registered representative begins employment with 
     or becomes affiliated or associated with the covered 
     financial institution.
       (3) Bank secrecy act officer.--An individual who is 
     designated as a compliance officer under an anti-money 
     laundering program established pursuant to section 5318(h) of 
     title 31, United States Code, shall be deemed to have 
     received the training described under this subsection.

     SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.

        Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt or limit 
     any provision of State law, except only to the extent that 
     section 2 provides a greater level of protection against 
     liability to an individual described in section 2(b)(1) or to 
     a covered financial institution described in section 2(b)(2) 
     than is provided under State law.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Garrett) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine 
Waters) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
add extraneous material to the bill therein.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4538. It is the Senior Safe 
Act of 2016, and I would like to thank the sponsors, principally the 
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin), also the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Mulvaney), for all of their hard work in bringing this 
bill to the floor of the House today.
  Mr. Speaker, we spend a lot of time in our committee and this 
Congress debating ways in which we can help Americans achieve a secure 
and dignified retirement. And while there are often disagreements about 
how to achieve that goal, one issue that is not debatable is that we 
must do everything in our power to stop fraudsters and scam artists 
from preying on the vulnerable senior citizen.
  Currently, Americans over the age of 50 account for roughly 75 
percent, over three-quarters of the financial assets of the U.S.; and 
unfortunately, one in five of those seniors, that is 20 percent, over 
the age of 65, have been the victim of fraud--one in five. Think of 
that. This costs senior citizens almost $2.9 billion every year, not to 
mention the stress and the pain that comes along with it for a person 
who has been victimized, trying to rebuild their financial security.
  Oftentimes, employees of banks or financial advisers are on the front 
lines against such fraud when they see that one of their clients may be 
a potential target. Unfortunately, current laws make it very difficult 
for employees of such institutions to report the occurrences of those 
frauds.
  So what do we do? We come to the floor tonight for something called 
the Senior Safe Act.
  What does it do? It provides a very simple fix that would allow a 
supervisor or a compliance officer of a bank or investment adviser to 
report instances of fraud to a Federal or State regulator so long as 
they reported the matter in good faith and, of course, with reasonable 
care.

                              {time}  2000

  Employees at these institutions want to protect their clients just as 
much as any regulator does, and so this bill would allow them to speak 
up when they see fraud that is being unreported. This bill passed the 
Financial Services Committee last month unanimously, so I encourage all 
my colleagues in the House to support it today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4538 is a bill intended to better aid our law 
enforcement agencies, State and Federal regulators, and agencies 
assisting seniors to quickly respond to and prevent financial abuse of 
elders.
  Currently, financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, and 
financial advisers are required to report suspicious activity, 
including cases of suspected abuse of our Nation's seniors. 
Nevertheless, industry has raised concerns that they are prevented from 
doing so out of fear that they might later be sued.

[[Page 10227]]

  Even though our regulators have taken considerable steps to allay 
such concerns, it seems that congressional action may be necessary to 
ensure that financial institutions take actions to stop elders from 
being swindled in their vulnerable years.
  Like Ms. Sinema, I also want to ensure that when any employee at a 
financial institution sees something suspicious, she immediately says 
something to the appropriate authorities and regulators. Indeed, I 
recently introduced legislation with a similar objective of ensuring 
the continued flow of critically important reporting of suspicious 
activity as it relates to terrorism, money laundering, and other 
serious illicit activities.
  Although it is not explicitly specified in the legislation before us 
today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should also use its 
existing authority to set standards for this training, and is 
authorized to ensure that the training is being conducted.
  H.R. 4538 is a good first step, but should not be the end of our 
efforts to rein in elder abuse. For example, State regulators are going 
further and mandating that financial firms make such reports to 
authorities instead of making the reports voluntary. The States and 
FINRA, the regulator of broker-dealers, also want to authorize 
financial advisers to put holds on financial transactions before a 
swindler can run off with the retirement savings of our Nation's 
grandparents.
  Finally, I would like to acknowledge the numerous changes Ms. Sinema 
has incorporated to improve the bill. These edits ensure that the bill 
covers all financial institutions and will enhance reporting of 
suspected elder abuse. However, more changes are still needed before 
the bill can be enacted, including language suggested by the Office of 
the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau, and other advocates. I hope that the Senate's sponsors will 
work with the administration and others to ensure their suggested 
changes are incorporated into the bill before it is enacted into law.
  However, today, Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 4538.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin) who has brought so much to this 
committee, and I very much appreciate all of his hard work on that and 
especially on the legislation that is here before us today.
  Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.
  Our great State of Maine has the oldest average age in the country. 
Like thousands of fellow Mainers, I help care for my special 86- and 
88-year-old parents.
  Now, it is scary to realize that our vulnerable seniors, whom we love 
so much, are increasingly being victimized by aggressive financial 
scams. This fraud is costing them not only sleepless nights, but about 
$3 billion each year.
  So today, Mr. Speaker, here in the House, Republicans and Democrats 
have a chance to show our compassion and to help our seniors.
  Now, our Senior Safe Act will help local bank and credit union 
tellers and retirement and insurance advisers and others to identify 
and stop these crimes before they happen. Our bill enables 
professionals in the financial sector and the institutions they work 
for to report this crookery to the proper authorities. We must do 
everything humanly possible, Mr. Speaker, to stop these scams before 
our parents and grandparents are fooled into draining and transferring 
their savings accounts and their nest eggs.
  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Democrat 
Congresswoman Sinema and Congressman Murphy of Florida and for 
Republican Congressman Mulvaney to write this important legislation. I 
thank Chairman Hensarling and Chairman Garrett for quickly moving this 
bill through our Financial Services Committee.
  I also want to congratulate and thank our Maine Senator, Susan 
Collins, for authoring the original legislation in the Senate. I am 
proud to work and join with Senator Collins by authoring this companion 
legislation here in the House. As we all know in Maine and throughout 
the country, Senator Collins has been a national leader and a champion 
on all sorts of issues important to aging adults throughout our 
country.
  Finally, I want to thank Judy Shaw, Maine's Securities Administrator, 
who has been instrumental in developing this type of program in our 
great State of Maine where it has been so successful in preventing 
financial fraud against our seniors.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, we Americans are facing many challenges here at 
home and abroad. But that doesn't mean that we can't find solutions 
that we can agree upon--commonsense solutions--to the serious problems 
that hurt our seniors, and this is one case. As a result, Mr. Speaker, 
I urge all of my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, to support 
the Senior Safe Act.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as 
she may consume to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema), the 
sponsor of this legislation.
  Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman, Ranking Member 
Waters, Congressman Poliquin, Congressman Murphy of Florida, and 
Congressman Mulvaney for working with me on our bipartisan legislation 
to help law enforcement combat senior financial exploitation.
  In 2014, Tinna Kay Lujan, while employed as a certified nursing 
assistant at Amber Lights, an assisted living facility in Tucson, my 
home State of Arizona, took 87-year-old Donald Hansen out of his 
facility and into her own home where he was later found dehydrated and 
suffering from an infection.
  Lujan not only moved Mr. Hansen into her home against his will, she 
also exploited him financially. As reported in the Arizona Republic, 
Washington Federal Bank staff contacted law enforcement because they 
were suspicious when Lujan and Hansen, who had been a long-time 
customer, visited the bank together.
  Ms. Lujan provided the bank with a power-of-attorney document signed 
by Hansen. She also requested bank cards and checks from Hansen's 
accounts and added Hansen's grandchildren as beneficiaries. But bank 
staff knew that Hansen had no grandchildren, and later they learned 
those beneficiaries were, in fact, Ms. Lujan's children.
  Donald Hansen is only one of thousands of Arizona seniors who are 
victims of financial exploitation every year. Recent studies estimate 
that nearly one in five American seniors may be a target for fraud or 
financial abuse, and seniors lose at least $2.9 billion annually to 
financial exploitation.
  But even when financial institutions suspect abuse, the abuse may go 
unpunished because current laws lack flexibility to allow these 
companies to report suspected abuse to authorities. Our bill, the 
Senior Safe Act, helps individuals and financial institutions 
communicate with appropriate agencies when they suspect financial 
exploitation of seniors.
  The bill also encourages firms to train employees to identify and 
stop financial fraud targeting seniors.
  Seniors deserve to retire with dignity, and they shouldn't have to 
worry that their hard-earned savings are at risk of fraud. Our 
legislation protects these firms and advisers from liability when they 
report suspected financial exploitation of a senior citizen.
  It is a commonsense solution to help ensure financial institutions 
can identify fraud, report it, and stop financial abuse of the elderly.
  Again, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their 
work and support to protect seniors and end financial exploitation.
  

  Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further 
requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her work and 
her bipartisan effort on this legislation. I very, very much, as I 
said, thank the gentleman from Maine for all of his contributions to 
the Financial Services Committee.

[[Page 10228]]

  Mr. Speaker, today I urge unanimous support in the House like we had 
in committee.
  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. Garrett) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4538, 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.

                          ____________________