Senior $afe Act Advances in the House

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the Senior $afe Act, a bill that Congressman Bruce Poliquin (ME-02) joined Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09) in introducing in February, passed through the House Financial Services Committee with unanimous support in a 59-0 vote.  This legislation will provide important protections for seniors to combat investment fraud, an enormous abuse of the investment market that exploits about one-fifth of investors aged 65 or older.  This is companion legislation to Senator Susan Collins’ Senior $afe Act in the Senate.  Congressman Poliquin released the following statement:

“It is vital that our seniors are provided the necessary resources and protections against investment fraud perpetrators, who are estimated to rob our seniors of more than $2.9 billion annually through illegal financial abuses,” said Congressman Poliquin. “The seniors in our 2nd District have worked their whole lives to build their savings.  It is absolutely unacceptable and deplorable for their hard-earned investments to be so egregiously abused by predatory criminals.

“I especially want recognize my colleague from Maine, Senator Susan Collins, who has been a leader on aging issues and authored this legislation in the Senate.  She has been a champion and I am proud to assist with the House companion legislation.”

The Senior $afe Act will enable financial institutions to report suspected instances of financial exploitation by an investment finance predator to the proper agencies to combat the abuse.  It also promotes training financial institution employees to identify suspected financial fraud. This bill would encourage banks, credit unions, investment advisors, and broker-dealers to report suspected financial fraud targeting senior citizens to the proper authorities.