[Senate Report 117-112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 215

117th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                           { 117-112

======================================================================
 
                PROTECTING INDIAN TRIBES FROM SCAMS ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                  ON

                                S. 1880

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


     May 18 (legislative day, May 17), 2022.--Ordered to be printed
     

                              __________

                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                           WASHINGTON : 2022         
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------     
     
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                    one hundred seventeenth congress
                             second session

                   MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts         TED CRUZ, Texas
GARY PETERS, Michigan                DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JERRY MORAN, Kansas
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
JON TESTER, Montana                  MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              TODD YOUNG, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MIKE LEE, Utah
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia

RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia             RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
                       Lila Helms, Staff Director
                  John Keast, Minority Staff Director
                  
                  

                                                  Calendar No. 215

117th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                           { 117-112

======================================================================                  

                PROTECTING INDIAN TRIBES FROM SCAMS ACT

                                _______
                                

     May 18 (legislative day, May 17), 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

      Ms. Cantwell, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1880]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 1880) 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, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and recommends that 
the bill (as amended) do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 1880 is to direct the Federal Trade 
Commission (FTC or Commission) to submit to Congress a report 
on unfair or deceptive acts or practices targeted at Indian 
Tribes or members of Indian Tribes and to include information 
about identifying and avoiding such acts or practices on its 
website.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEEDS

    Each year, millions of Americans are victims of fraud and 
scams.\1\ In the U.S. marketplace, financial fraud, identity 
theft, government impostor scams, and COVID-19 scams are among 
the most commonly reported schemes.\2\ While fraud affects 
every community, FTC data suggests that scams targeting Indian 
Tribes and their members have increased in volume during the 
COVID-19 pandemic, and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/
AN) individuals are more likely to be victims of scams and less 
likely to report scams than other racial and ethnic groups.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Federal Trade Commission, ``New Data Shows FTC Received 2.2 
Million Fraud Reports from Consumers in 2020,'' press release, February 
4, 2021 (https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-
releases/2021/02/new-data-shows-ftc-received-2-2-million-fraud-reports-
consumers).
    \2\Federal Bureau of Investigation, ``Common Scams and Crimes'' 
(https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes).
    \3\U.S. Department of the Interior: Indian Affairs, ``How to Avoid 
Getting Scammed'' (https://www.bia.gov/service/starting-business/how-
avoid-getting-scammed).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Indian Tribes and Tribal members are considered a 
particularly attractive target for scammers due, in part, to a 
steady influx of lump sum payments to Tribal governments and 
communities.\4\ Those payments have historically come from 
tribal dividend payments, trust fund settlements, land trust 
consolidation, per capita payments, and Federal lawsuit 
settlements.\5\ In the most recent COVID-19 packages, 
particularly the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan, 
Tribes, Tribal members and individuals have received historic 
investments from the Federal Government, which places them at 
greater risk of fraud and scams worthy of warnings by the 
Commission.\6\ In some cases, fraudsters and scammers may know 
the timing and size of these payouts and attempt to trick AI/AN 
individuals and Tribes into giving up a portion or all of their 
allocations or earnings.\7\ Identity theft, price gouging, and 
establishing loans using per capita payments as collateral are 
some of the fraudulent practices scammers have purportedly used 
to steal money from Indian Tribes and their members.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Federal Trade Commission, ``Fraud Affects Every Community,'' 
transcript from FTC workshop, part I/panel I, October 29, 2014 (https:/
/www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/videos/fraud-affects-every-
community-workshop-part-1/ftc_fraud_affects_every_community_workshop_-
_transcript_segment_1.pdf); see also First Nations Development 
Institute, ``Fighting Fraud 101'' (https://www.firstnations.org/
projects/fighting-fraud-101-pamphlet/).
    \5\Ibid.
    \6\Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information, ``Scams Will 
Follow New Rescue Plan'' (https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2021/03/
scams-will-follow-new-covid-19-rescue-plan).
    \7\First Nations Development Institute, ``Fighting Fraud 101'' 
(https://www.firstnations.org/projects/fighting-fraud-101-pamphlet/).
    \8\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The FTC has a broad mandate to protect consumers from 
unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the marketplace. In 
recent years, the FTC has produced reports outlining its 
efforts to protect certain segments of the U.S. population that 
have been targeted or disproportionately affected by financial 
schemes or scams.\9\ S. 1880, as reported, would require the 
FTC to develop a report specifically focused on unfair or 
deceptive practices targeting Indian Tribes and their members. 
The bill would require the FTC to submit the report to Congress 
and update the Commission's website with information for 
consumers and businesses on identifying and avoiding unfair or 
deceptive acts or practices targeting Indian Tribes and members 
of Indian Tribes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\Federal Trade Commission, Protecting Older Consumers 2019-2020, 
October 18, 2020 (https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/
protecting-older-consumers-2019-2020-report-federal-trade-commission/
p144400_protecting_older_adults_report_2020.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1880 was introduced on May 27, 2021, by Senator Lujan 
(for himself and Senator Moran) and was referred to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate. Senators Tester and Daines are additional cosponsors. 
On August 4, 2021, the Committee met in open Executive Session 
and, by voice vote, ordered S. 1880 reported favorably with an 
amendment (in the nature of a substitute).

                            ESTIMATED COSTS

    In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 25, 2022.
Hon. Maria Cantwell,
Chair, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Chair: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1880, the Protecting 
Indian Tribes from Scams Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is David Hughes.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    S. 1880 would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to 
study and report to the Congress on unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices that target Indian Tribes or members of Indian Tribes 
and to update its website to include information for consumers 
and businesses on avoiding such acts or practices.
    Using information from the FTC about the cost of similar 
activities, CBO estimates that it would cost the agency less 
than $500,000 to complete the required study and update its 
website; any spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Hughes. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

    Because S. 1880 does not create any new programs, the 
legislation will have no additional regulatory impact, and will 
result in no additional reporting requirements. The legislation 
will have no further effect on the number or types of 
individuals and businesses regulated, the economic impact of 
such regulation, the personal privacy of affected individuals, 
or the paperwork required from such individuals and businesses.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no 
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the 
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the 
rule.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title.

    This section provides that the bill may be cited as the 
``Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act''.

Section 2. Protecting Indian Tribes from unfair or deceptive acts or 
        practices.

    Paragraph (a) provides that, not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission must, after 
consulting with Indian Tribes, submit to the appropriate 
committees in Congress and make publicly available on its 
website a report regarding unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices targeting Indian Tribes or their members. The report 
must include: (1) a description of the types of unfair or 
deceptive acts or practices that target Indian Tribes or their 
members; (2) a description of the Commission's consumer 
education activities regarding such acts or practices; (3) a 
description of the Commission's efforts to collaborate with 
Indian Tribes to prevent such unfair or deceptive practices or 
to pursue perpetrators of such acts or practices; (4) a summary 
of the Commission's enforcement actions relating to such acts 
or practices; and (5) any recommendations for legislation to 
prevent such acts or practices.
    Paragraph (b) provides that the Commission must, within 6 
months of the bill's enactment, update its website with 
information that helps consumers and businesses identify and 
avoid unfair or deceptive acts or practices that target Indian 
Tribes or their members.
    Paragraph (c) defines three terms used in the bill. This 
section defines ``Indian Tribe'' as having the same meaning 
given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 
and Education Assistance Act.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\25 U.S.C. 5304.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the 
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.

                                  [all]