Senator Collins Attends York County Elder Abuse Conference
Kennebunkport, ME — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, delivered remarks at the York County Elder Abuse Task Force Annual Conference this morning. The conference was attended by approximately 100 members of the community, including financial professionals, social workers, advocates, local government officials, direct elder support individuals, health care professionals, and law enforcement.
“The York County Elder Abuse Task Force brings together some of the most effective champions to combat the abuse against our seniors,” said Senator Collins. “I am proud to join you. As the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, one of my top priorities is protecting our seniors against abuse, including fraud and financial exploitation. The experience, insight, and commitment of those of you on the front lines are invaluable to my efforts on this crucial issue.”
The York County Elder Abuse Task Force, established in 2005 by Candice Simeoni of the Kennebunk Police Department, is a group of committed professionals from diverse backgrounds. The Task Force works to educate the public about elder abuse and ultimately eliminate it as a problem in York County.
In the past six years, Senator Collins’ Aging Committee has held 23 hearings focused on financial fraud and scams. Earlier this year, Senator Collins invited Officer Simeoni to testify about her work to combat elder abuse at an Aging Committee hearing she chaired.
Senator Collins has also helped lead efforts to fight against robocalls. In July, Senator Collins chaired a hearing assessing the government’s response to these illegal calls. She also introduced a bill to crack down on the deceptive caller-ID “spoofing” tactic many robocallers use, and she successfully pushed the FCC to approve a proposal to allow carriers to block illegal robocalls by default. Last year, the Senior $afe Act, a bipartisan bill Senator Collins authored with then-Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), was signed into law. This new law provides support to regulators, financial institutions, and legal organizations to educate their employees about how to identify, prevent, and report financial exploitation.
This week, Senator Collins sent a letter urging the Social Security Administration to strengthen its response to the Social Security scam that seeks to rob Americans of their hard-earned savings. Earlier this year, Senator Collins unveiled the 2019 Fraud Book, which details the top 10 most common scams reported to her Committee’s Fraud Hotline over the previous year. Senator Collins distributed copies of the Fraud Book at today’s conference.
