COVID–19 Fraud Prevention Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2959) to establish the Consumer and Investor Fraud Working Group to help protect consumers and investors from fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, to assist consumers and investors affected by such fraud, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Axne for her leadership on H.R. 2959, the COVID-19 Fraud Prevention Act.

This bill would create a joint Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission fraud working group to better protect consumers and investors against fraudulent schemes during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of the pandemic outbreak in the United States last year, millions of American families lost work and struggled to keep food on the table, pay their bills, and a roof over their heads. As early as April 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that more than 20 million workers had lost their jobs.

As consumers across the country struggled with their finances and to stay protected against infection, predatory scammers and unscrupulous actors have profited from consumers' concerns and anxiety.

Scams targeting consumers' economic stimulus payments and unemployment benefits have delayed or prevented consumers from receiving the resources that they desperately need.

At the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions hearing held in March entitled ``Slipping Through the Cracks: Policy Options to Help America's Consumers During the Pandemic,'' Carla Sanchez-Adams, managing attorney with the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, shared the story of a client she called Ms. Y, who lost her job because of the pandemic, fell ill from COVID-19, and became a victim of fraud.

Ms. Sanchez-Adams said: ``Ms. Y qualified for unemployment benefits through the Texas Workforce Commission. Ms. Y does not have a bank account, so her only option to receive her unemployment benefits was to have the funds deposited on a prepaid card . . . '' The Texas Workforce Commission ``disbursed $6,000 in unemployment benefits through the'' card. ``Soon after receiving her card, Ms. Y got COVID-19 and had to be hospitalized. When she was released, she tried to access the funds . . . and discovered there was'' not one single penny left. ``When she called . . . to inquire about the problem, she was told that someone had called, requested a new card be issued to an address in Michigan, and that someone in Michigan had used all the funds.''

Ms. Y is, unfortunately, not alone in experiencing this kind of shameless profiteering during a national crisis. Representative Axne's bill would help ensure that consumers who have been impacted by fraud can report it and have access to legal resources to combat it. It would also provide coordination between the CFPB and the SEC to combat these fraudulent schemes.

Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers and am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time until Mr. Hill yields back.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Madam Speaker, the COVID-19 Fraud Prevention Act led by Representative Axne would provide essential resources and support for consumers and investors to protect them against fraudulent schemes that have been rampant during this tragic pandemic.

The House passed this unanimously by voice vote in September of 2020. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me again in supporting this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Iowa for reintroducing this bill. There is no doubt that fraudsters and other bad actors have been out taking advantage of consumers during the pandemic because they are out taking advantage of consumers every day anyway. Moreover, many of them are disproportionately targeting seniors.

The Federal Trade Commission, looking over the pandemic, has some 436,000 reports of fraud amounting to some almost $400 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission has stopped 49 companies from trading, suspended for concerns over misleading information. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB, has gotten almost half a million complaints.

So this effort among the regulators that Mrs. Axne is proposing in H.R. 2959 establishes the Consumer and Investor Fraud Working Group. This working group includes representatives from the CFPB, the SEC, and is established to help coordinate and share information across the Federal Government.

The working group will focus on providing resources to consumers and investors and help them avoid falling victim to the fraudulent schemes and scams that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and after.

In addition, the working group will produce a quarterly report to the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. This will allow Congress to monitor its actions and resources as it is made public.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Missouri for his leadership today on these House Financial Services Committee bills. I appreciate the hard work on a bipartisan basis on these measures. I have no additional speakers on the Republican side. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.