[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1469 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1469
To create an interdivisional taskforce at the Securities and Exchange
Commission for senior investors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 21, 2025
Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mrs. Wagner) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To create an interdivisional taskforce at the Securities and Exchange
Commission for senior investors.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Senior Investor Initiative
Act of 2025'' or the ``Senior Security Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. SENIOR INVESTOR TASKFORCE.
Section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78d) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(l) Senior Investor Taskforce.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established within the
Commission the Senior Investor Taskforce (in this subsection
referred to as the `Taskforce').
``(2) Director of the taskforce.--The head of the Taskforce
shall be the Director, who shall--
``(A) report directly to the Chairman; and
``(B) be appointed by the Chairman, in consultation
with the Commission, from among individuals--
``(i) currently employed by the Commission
or from outside of the Commission; and
``(ii) having experience in advocating for
the interests of senior investors.
``(3) Staffing.--The Chairman shall ensure that--
``(A) the Taskforce is staffed sufficiently to
carry out fully the requirements of this subsection;
and
``(B) such staff shall include individuals from the
Division of Enforcement, Office of Compliance
Inspections and Examinations, and Office of Investor
Education and Advocacy.
``(4) No compensation for members of taskforce.--All
members of the Taskforce appointed under paragraph (2) or (3)
shall serve without compensation in addition to that received
for their services as officers or employees of the United
States.
``(5) Minimizing duplication of efforts.--In organizing and
staffing the Taskforce, the Chairman shall take such actions as
may be necessary to minimize the duplication of efforts within
the divisions and offices described under paragraph (3)(B) and
any other divisions, offices, or taskforces of the Commission.
``(6) Functions of the taskforce.--The Taskforce shall--
``(A) identify challenges that senior investors
encounter, including problems associated with financial
exploitation and cognitive decline;
``(B) identify areas in which senior investors
would benefit from changes in the regulations of the
Commission or the rules of self-regulatory
organizations;
``(C) coordinate, as appropriate, with other
offices within the Commission, other taskforces that
may be established within the Commission, self-
regulatory organizations, and the Elder Justice
Coordinating Council; and
``(D) consult, as appropriate, with State
securities and law enforcement authorities, State
insurance regulators, and other Federal agencies.
``(7) Report.--The Taskforce, in coordination, as
appropriate, with the Office of the Investor Advocate and self-
regulatory organizations, and in consultation, as appropriate,
with State securities and law enforcement authorities, State
insurance regulators, and Federal agencies, shall issue a
report every 2 years to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs and the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate
and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives, the first of which shall not be issued until
after the report described in section 3 of the National Senior
Investor Initiative Act of 2025 has been issued and considered
by the Taskforce, containing--
``(A) appropriate statistical information and full
and substantive analysis;
``(B) a summary of recent trends and innovations
that have impacted the investment landscape for senior
investors;
``(C) a summary of regulatory initiatives that have
concentrated on senior investors and industry practices
related to senior investors;
``(D) key observations, best practices, and areas
needing improvement, involving senior investors
identified during examinations, enforcement actions,
and investor education outreach;
``(E) a summary of the most serious issues
encountered by senior investors, including issues
involving financial products and services;
``(F) an analysis with regard to existing policies
and procedures of brokers, dealers, investment
advisers, and other market participants related to
senior investors and senior investor-related topics and
whether these policies and procedures need to be
further developed or refined;
``(G) recommendations for such changes to the
regulations, guidance, and orders of the Commission and
self-regulatory organizations and such legislative
actions as may be appropriate to resolve problems
encountered by senior investors; and
``(H) any other information, as determined
appropriate by the Director of the Taskforce.
``(8) Request for reports.--The Taskforce shall make any
report issued under paragraph (7) available to a Member of
Congress who requests such a report.
``(9) Sunset.--The Taskforce shall terminate after the end
of the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this subsection.
``(10) Senior investor defined.--For purposes of this
subsection, the term `senior investor' means an investor over
the age of 65.
``(11) Use of existing funds.--The Commission shall use
existing funds to carry out this subsection.''.
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.
(a) Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
Congress and the Senior Investor Taskforce the results of a study of
financial exploitation of senior citizens.
(b) Contents.--The study required under subsection (a) shall
include information with respect to--
(1) economic costs of the financial exploitation of senior
citizens--
(A) associated with losses by victims that were
incurred as a result of the financial exploitation of
senior citizens;
(B) incurred by State and Federal agencies, law
enforcement and investigatory agencies, public benefit
programs, public health programs, and other public
programs as a result of the financial exploitation of
senior citizens;
(C) incurred by the private sector as a result of
the financial exploitation of senior citizens; and
(D) any other relevant costs that--
(i) result from the financial exploitation
of senior citizens; and
(ii) the Comptroller General determines are
necessary and appropriate to include in order
to provide Congress and the public with a full
and accurate understanding of the economic
costs resulting from the financial exploitation
of senior citizens in the United States;
(2) frequency of senior financial exploitation and
correlated or contributing factors--
(A) information about percentage of senior citizens
financially exploited each year; and
(B) information about factors contributing to
increased risk of exploitation, including such factors
as race, social isolation, income, net worth, religion,
region, occupation, education, home-ownership, illness,
and loss of spouse; and
(3) policy responses and reporting of senior financial
exploitation--
(A) the degree to which financial exploitation of
senior citizens unreported to authorities;
(B) the reasons that financial exploitation may be
unreported to authorities;
(C) to the extent that suspected elder financial
exploitation is currently being reported--
(i) information regarding which Federal,
State, and local agencies are receiving
reports, including adult protective services,
law enforcement, industry, regulators, and
professional licensing boards;
(ii) information regarding what information
is being collected by such agencies; and
(iii) information regarding the actions
that are taken by such agencies upon receipt of
the report and any limits on the agencies'
ability to prevent exploitation, such as
jurisdictional limits, a lack of expertise,
resource challenges, or limiting criteria with
regard to the types of victims they are
permitted to serve;
(D) an analysis of gaps that may exist in
empowering Federal, State, and local agencies to
prevent senior exploitation or respond effectively to
suspected senior financial exploitation; and
(E) an analysis of the legal hurdles that prevent
Federal, State, and local agencies from effectively
partnering with each other and private professionals to
effectively respond to senior financial exploitation.
(c) Senior Citizen Defined.--For purposes of this section, the term
``senior citizen'' means an individual over the age of 65.
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