Florida Republican Gus Bilirakis’ proposal to help the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tackle fraud targeting seniors picked up steam on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
The House Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee approved the Florida congressman’s “FTC Robust Elderly Protections and Organizational Requirements to Track Scams Act (FTC REPORTS) Act.” The bill would require the FTC to be more transparent and draw up annual plans to to fight fraud targeting seniors.
“The legislation approved today will help bring about a more transparent and accountable FTC,” Bilirakis said on Thursday. “I am especially proud we advanced my FTC REPORTS Act as part of the larger FTC Process and Transparency Reform Act. By requiring annual reports from the FTC, we may better identify areas of potential reform and ways we can help protect consumers, especially seniors. There have been too many cases of exploitation of the elderly. I will continue working to protect our seniors from bad actors and empower all consumers.”
When Bilirakis brought his bill at the end of April, he insisted seniors would benefit as the FTC had to make annual reports to Congress on its work combating fraud targeting the elderly.
“Many of my constituents have fallen victim to fraudulent behavior and scams,” Bilirakis said when he introduced the measure. “According to the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA), an estimated 1 in 5 adults over the age of 65 have reported financial exploitation. Moreover, only 1 in 44 cases of financial abuse were reported to the authorities. Unfortunately, these bad actors target our nation’s seniors and the results can be devastating to these individuals and their families. I will continue working to protect our nation’s consumers, especially our seniors.”
While there’s Senate companion yet, Bilirakis has rounded up some prominent congressional Republicans including Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Michael Burgess and Michael McCaul of Texas to back the measure.
