Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 2017
Latest action · Mar 7, 2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 7, 2017
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 2017
This bill requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to disseminate to senior citizens and their families and caregivers information regarding mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud that targets senior citizens. The information must: (1) teach safe and smart financial practices, (2) provide instructions on how to refer a fraud complaint to law enforcement, and (3) include a toll-free telephone number that connects to a live individual who answers calls from seniors seeking advice about scams or how to report instances of fraud.
The Department of Justice may award grants for the prevention of senior citizen fraud to state attorneys general, state or local law enforcement, senior centers, or nonprofit organizations that provide assistance to seniors. Priority shall be given to entities with public-private partnerships with computer or software companies that develop Internet scam prevention tools.
The FTC must provide education regarding legal obligations, and concerning industry best practices addressing financial exploitation and neglect of seniors, to: (1) depository institutions, credit offices, remittance transfer providers, and general-use prepaid card distributors; and (2) financial institution employees who may be able to identify elder financial abuse. State agencies may not receive federal funds under this bill without ensuring that such financial entities in their states receive training on recognizing and reporting financial exploitation and neglect of seniors.
The National Institutes of Health must research the increased vulnerability of seniors to scams and fraud due to age-related health and neurological conditions.
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that a week in March of each year should be designated as National Senior Fraud Awareness Week.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 7, 2017.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-ME | Susan M. Collins | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 7, 2017Introduced in Senate
- Mar 7, 2017Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Commerce.
- Aging
- Commemorative events and holidays
- Commerce
- Consumer affairs
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Financial literacy
- Fraud offenses and financial crimes
- Government information and archives
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Law enforcement administration and funding
- Marketing and advertising
- Medical research
- Neurological disorders
- Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
- Telephone and wireless communication
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 7, 2017Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.