Senators Collins, McCaskill Urge Senate Banking Committee to Consider Senior$afe Act of 2017
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the Chairman and former Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, sent a letter to the leadership of the Senate Banking Committee today, urging consideration of the Senior$afe Act of 2017 (S. 223).
According to the Government Accountability Office, financial fraud targeting older Americans costs an estimated $2.9 billion annually. This bipartisan legislation would put in place a commonsense plan to protect older Americans from financial exploitation by providing support to regulators, financial institutions, and legal organizations to educate their employees to identify and prevent financial exploitation of older Americans.
In the letter, the Senators wrote that “regrettably, federal laws intended to protect consumers can make it difficult for financial institutions to report suspected fraud to the proper authorities. Under S. 223, financial institutions and their employees would be protected from liability as long as their employees are trained to spot and report suspected financial exploitation, their reports are made in good faith and on a reasonable basis, and they report to the proper authorities, such as regulators, law enforcement, or adult protective services agencies.”
The Senior$afe Act is based on Maine’s innovative Senior$afe program, a collaborative effort by Maine’s regulators, financial institutions, and legal organizations to educate bank and credit union employees on how to identify and help stop financial exploitation of older Mainers.
A number of organizations, including AARP, the nation’s largest senior advocacy organization representing nearly 38 million members, has endorsed this bill. Other endorsements include North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA).
Read the full letter HERE
