S. 547 · 115th Congress
Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 2017
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
GillibrandSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
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.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Mar 7, 2017
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.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 2017
Latest action (Mar 7, 2017): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Policy area: Commerce · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Mar 7, 2017
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.