Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1762) to direct the Federal Trade Commission to submit to Congress a report on unfair or deceptive acts or practices targeted at Indian Tribes or members of Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1762.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 1762, the Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act. The often-overlooked area in Federal fraud prevention efforts is scams targeting Indian Tribes and Tribal members. The scope and scale of scams affecting Indian Tribes have not been well documented, hindering efforts to prevent them.

This bipartisan bill, reintroduced this Congress by Representatives Mullin and O'Halleran, will help get the needed information about fraud and scams targeting Tribes and members of Tribes. This bill directs the FTC to consult with Indian Tribes about these scams and then issue a report to Congress that will be made public. It also requires the FTC to update its website to include information on these scams.

Mr. Speaker, as this pandemic continues, scammers are taking advantage of people's fear and uncertainty to steal people's money and commit fraud. American Indians are not exempt from these unfair and deceptive practices and may even be specifically targeted with certain kinds of scams. But there is not much information about it.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Representatives Mullin and O'Halleran for introducing this bill, an important step in helping prevent fraud and scams targeting Tribes and members of Tribes. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I also urge support for the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1762, the ``Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act,'' which requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), after consultation with Indian tribes, to report on unfair or deceptive practices that target tribes or tribal members.

The FTC must submit the report to Congress and make it publicly available.

The FTC is directed to update its website to include information for consumers and businesses on identifying and avoiding unfair or deceptive practices that target tribes or tribal members.

Scammers are targeting Native people.

Scammers may say extra money is waiting for a small price upfront or that a testing kit or treatment for the coronavirus is available for a fee.

Other scams attempt to benefit from the $1,200 Economic Impact Payment coming to most U.S. citizens; and more are expected to target stimulus checks authorized under the America Rescue Plan.

At least one tribal leader has warned tribal citizens of an email scam related to the coronavirus.

In an April 14 Facebook post, Ojibwe Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin wrote that an email purporting to be her had tribal citizens to purchase gift cards to help a citizen who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Benjamin asks those that may have received the scam email from a Gmail account to contact tribal police.

This bill will help protect our diverse Native American communities from scammers by providing valuable information that will help identify fraudsters and arm people with tools to protect themselves.

Our friends in the Native American communities across the nation have faced tremendous challenges during COVID-19 and they need our help to keep their nation's physically and financial safe during COVID.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1762, the Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act. I want to thank Representative Mullin and Representative O'Halleran for their work on this particular issue. This bipartisan piece of legislation will help our Native nations.

One area that can be overlooked in Federal fraud prevention efforts, Mr. Speaker, is scams targeting Indian Tribal members. The scope and scale of scams that target Indian Tribes have not been well documented, hindering efforts to prevent them.

This legislation would direct the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission, to submit to Congress a report on unfair or deceptive acts or practices targeting Indian Tribes.

Simply put, these scammers ruin lives, unfortunately. To address these scams properly, we must educate all Americans on how to avoid malicious scammers.

This legislation passed the House last Congress, and I am hopeful we can again pass it today and get this legislation to become law as soon as possible. I can't think of a better person to sponsor this than my good friend, Mr. Mullin.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of my bill, H.R. 1762, the Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act. The bill will help protect our Tribes and Tribal members from predatorial scams.

Tribal communities have long been targets of fraud. Scammers often target vulnerable communities who receive trust or settlement payments, like many Tribes do. FTC data says that Tribe members are more likely to be the victims of scams and are less likely to report scams than any other group.

H.R. 1762 will direct the FTC to study the types of scams that target Tribes and find the best ways to combat them.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Arizona for working with me on these issues, as well as many other issues important to Indian County. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.