Supporting the Protection of Elders Through Financial Literacy

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 328, Supporting the Protection of Elders Through Financial Literacy. This collaboration by Mr. Casten of Illinois and Mr. Rose of Tennessee is, again, an important bipartisan effort to focus on financial literacy during Financial Literacy Month as well as to call attention to the challenges that we have in making sure that our senior Americans are taken care of and their financial well-being.

According to research conducted by the AARP Public Policy Institute, one in five older Americans is a victim of financial exploitation each year. These victims lose up to $3 billion annually, or more than $120,000 per victim, which is more than most Americans have in their entire retirement savings.

Sadly, only 1 in 44 cases is reported. That is the challenge that we have talked about here this afternoon, that we make sure that that reporting is identified so that restitution can be made.

I am proud of the work the Congress did on the Senior Safe Act, legislation that originated in the Financial Services Committee and was ultimately signed into law last year. That legislation took an important step in offering greater financial protection to seniors by encouraging financial institutions, investment advisers, and brokers to report suspected fraud or elder abuse to law enforcement--a good step.

This resolution we are now discussing also complements the fine work of Mr. Gottheimer and Mr. Hollingsworth for their work on the Senior Security Act.

Prevention is the best solution. More can and should be done to educate seniors and all Americans on healthy financial habits and protection against financial exploitation.

The unfortunate reality is that seniors can be especially vulnerable to financial fraud, as outlined by Mr. Gottheimer and Mr. Hollingsworth. Even according to the SEC's own report in 2018, ``Elder Financial Exploitation,'' it is attributed to cognitive decline and wealth held by older generations.

We must work together to ensure that bad actors don't take advantage of this population. These crimes range from complex scams to the all- too-common case of someone close to an elderly person tricking them into signing away money that they had saved for retirement. It is this last type of exploitation that is especially troubling.

As I referenced a few minutes ago, people in a position of trust: lawyers, CPAs, financial advisers.

H. Res. 328 highlights the importance of educating the elderly about healthy financial habits that include protecting one's finances from financial exploitation. You can't take it for granted that we know better than to finance a child's entrapment in Mexico or that you are going to help a Nigerian prince. It sounds farfetched. But it happens every single day across this country, and education is the best form of prevention.

I think we can all agree that the status quo is not enough. H. Res. 328 raises much-needed public awareness for the importance of personal financial education for the elderly and highlights the collaboration between banks, law enforcement, and financial advisers to protect older generations.

For those reasons, I congratulate and thank my friends, Representatives Casten and Rose, for their good work.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. John W. Rose), the Republican author of this measure.

Mr. JOHN W. ROSE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 328.

I applaud my colleague, Mr. Casten, for his thoughtful leadership on this initiative.

For too long, the financial exploitation of our seniors has been swept under the rug. It is truly heartbreaking to hear stories of Tennesseans' parents, siblings, and friends being taken advantage of, often by those they trust the most. It is time to equip our friends, families, and neighbors with the knowledge and tools they need to guard against the heartbreak of their hard-earned security and stability being stolen in the golden years of life.

Age brings many of life's most difficult challenges, but financial exploitation should not be one of them. It is incumbent upon us to correct this injustice and encourage the many community partnerships which work to do the same, including the work of our men and women in law enforcement, various nonprofit organizations, and affiliated regulatory agencies.

Scammers and deceivers hurt good folks across the Sixth District of Tennessee and across America.

My esteemed colleague from Illinois (Mr. Casten) and I urge our fellow Members to join us in standing against this despicable injustice plaguing our country.

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, in closing, this has been a good afternoon on a bipartisan basis to talk about the importance of financial literacy. It is something we all try to practice what we preach. We try to encourage a broad sense of partnership between the regulators, our financial services firms, the AARP, our schools, and other people to enhance financial literacy from adolescence to elder years. And I think about what we have heard today on what we are trying to protect our constituents from through education: internet scams, Nigerian princes' schemes, violators from a trusted person.

And then I thought back, just sitting here, Madam Speaker, of my own in-laws, now deceased about 7 years--one with Alzheimer's and one just old-age infirmities--and cleaning up all the sweepstakes applications that they had received and sent money to in those final years of their life.

I thank my friends, led by Dr. Foster and others. I congratulate Representative Casten and Representative Rose on this particular measure, H. Res. 328. I urge all of my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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