Financial Exploitation Prevention Act of 2025

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2478, the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative Wagner.

This bill will help protect vulnerable Americans by allowing for mutual fund companies to delay the redemption or sale of mutual funds when the company believes there is an attempt to defraud a senior or an adult who cannot protect themselves.

Financial fraud targeting older adults is a widespread and growing problem. Millions of seniors are victimized each year, and reported losses are just soaring. In 2025 alone, America's seniors lost nearly $8 billion to fraud, an 80 percent increase over the prior year.

Seniors are especially vulnerable to scams and financial abuse because they may not be familiar with the ever-increasing technological sophistication with which current scammers operate. Scammers exploit these factors through tactics like AI-powered deep fakes that emulate the voice of a grandchild pretending to be in a difficult or dangerous situation, romance schemes that prey on lonely seniors, tech support hoaxes, lottery scams, and other tricks. The introduction of artificial intelligence is making these scams all the more prevalent and harmful.

We should do all we can to stop these scammers and fraudsters. Unfortunately, that is not what Congress and the President are doing. The Trump administration, with Republican support in Congress, has been shrinking, and in some cases dismantling, the financial cops who detect fraud and hold bad actors accountable. Trump's administration has walked away from court cases where fraudsters had admitted to harming Americans and agreed to pay compensation. As a result, victims didn't receive compensation, but the criminals' pockets were lined.

While this bill could empower financial industry participants to help protect seniors when they suspect fraud, it is absurd that, at the same time, Republicans are cheering on Trump's attempts to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and defang and defund the SEC. All the while, Trump's family reaps in millions, if not billions, of personal profits from their corrupt business dealings and private- sector shakedowns.

Some of these actions have a direct impact on Americans. The Trump meme coin scam, for example, has resulted in billions of dollars of losses for Americans. We cannot talk about fraud without acknowledging this massive elephant in the room.

The American people are asking for this House to hold the Trump administration and family accountable. Until then, we are left taking small steps, such as passing H.R. 2478.

Mr. Hill, the chairman of the committee and my friend, talked about this having bipartisan support. I don't know if bipartisan support means anything these days.

I am stunned that we worked hard for over 1 year on doing something substantive about housing. We had bicameral and bipartisan support and, all of a sudden, the President of the United States canceled the signing of the bipartisan bill today.

What is up? What is going on?

Does it mean anything that Republicans worked very hard?

Mr. Hill spent a lot of time on the bill, and I spent a lot of time on this bill. All of a sudden, the President says: Oh, I don't feel like signing it today. As a matter of fact, I want something else. I want the SAVE America Act that will undermine voting and strip those who have been protected by the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act from being able to vote in a way that our democracy demands and the Constitution protects.

I am very pleased that Mrs. Wagner has this bill. I know she has worked on it. I certainly support it, but we need more.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, with the advent of new technologies like artificial intelligence, senior fraud is more prevalent today than it ever has been, and it is only going to get worse. We need to do everything in our power to make sure that seniors have the appropriate protections to comfortably enjoy retirement.

Chair Wagner's H.R. 2478 is part of that effort, allowing mutual fund providers to delay redemptions of a senior's shares if they suspect they may be falling victim to a scam.

Mr. Speaker, we are in a terrible time in this country. We are in a terrible time because we have so many difficulties with the economy and the groceries are higher. Gasoline is out of control. The price is absolutely unusual and unnecessary, except the President of the United States said he doesn't care.

As a matter of fact, the President of the United States said he loves inflation, for example, and we know what his tariffs have done to our economy. Yet, he is in another country saying that he doesn't care about the financial situation that we are confronted with.

This is a good bill. This is a bill to try and protect our seniors. Our seniors need protection. Many of them are on fixed incomes. Many of them don't have a lot of money, and if they are ripped off, they may end up homeless and on the street. The President doesn't care about that. Yes, this is a bipartisan bill. Bipartisan, for those who are listening, means that both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, agree, but we don't know whether the President will agree. For all I know, he may veto the bill. We don't know what to expect from him.

We are in a terrible situation with the President of the United States of America. We know he canceled the bill's signing that is supported by both sides of the aisle, in both the House and the Senate, knowing that we have 800,000 people who are on the streets in this country every night and he is not willing to generously step up to the plate and say: I support a bill that is going to get housing built for the average family. We are going to support a bill to keep people off the street, homelessness. We are going to support a bill that ensures that people have an opportunity to pursue their talent and to do what they can to make their lives more comfortable.

If he can't support that and he is canceling it today, I don't know what we can expect about a good bill like this that is protecting seniors. I just ask all of the Members of the House of Representatives, vote ``aye'' on this bill. Vote ``aye'' on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, for those who have influence with the President of the United States, call him and tell him: Mr. President, don't veto this. Mr. President, come on back and sign this housing bill so we can deal with this housing crisis. Mr. President, get us out of this war in Iran. Mr. President, do something to deal with this economy where people are getting hurt and harmed every day.

Mr. Speaker, we could go on talking about it. It is embarrassing. The American people should not have to hear this kind of conversation, but those of us who were sent here by the people we represent have to speak truth to power. That is what we do when we come up with legislation with both sides of the aisle supporting it, in both the House and Senate supporting it. We have to get in the President's face and say: Sign these bills. He has to talk about these problems. He has to deal with this economy, and that is a bit of what we are doing today. I have added to it a little bit, but that is my responsibility.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2478) to amend the Investment Company Act of 1940 to postpone the date of payment or satisfaction upon redemption of certain securities in the case of the financial exploitation of specified adults, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the Congressional Budget Office estimate for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of our distinguished chair of our Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Mrs. Wagner from Missouri, and her bill that she presents today, the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act of 2025.

Every day, bad actors use fraud, scams, and deception to target the most vulnerable in our society who may be less able to recognize or respond immediately and timely to some form of financial abuse.

Literally, over the last few years, I have been inundated every time I am in my district and community, like my hometown of Little Rock. I hear directly from citizens, the elderly, customers, bankers, small business owners, and all consumers who are grappling with check fraud, wire fraud, and increasingly sophisticated digital scams.

My own family has been victim of check fraud more than one time. I am grateful to the bank that helped identify that with their system.

Mr. Speaker, our financial institutions, our broker-dealers, and our investment companies are all saddled with being in the first line of defense against these schemes that are coming in every shape and form, electronically, by paper, and over the telephone, that are targeting the customers and clients of our financial services companies.

These banks, broker-dealers, and investment companies are uniquely positioned to identify suspicious transactions and unusual account activity. That is the whole mission. We have given those authorities, and they have invested billions in surveillance technology to try to do that.

When warning signs emerge, firms should have the ability to take reasonable steps to put their customers first and to protect those customers from potential harm.

Chair Wagner's bill, H.R. 2478, which has strong bipartisan support and cosponsorship, strengthens those exact protections by providing financial institutions and other financial professionals and investment companies with the legal certainty needed to temporarily delay transactions when financial exploitation or abuse is suspected.

This legislation is part of the Financial Services Committee's broader effort to combat financial fraud and scams plaguing our citizens, our neighbors, particularly seniors, and other vulnerable Americans.

By creating a safe harbor for delaying suspicious transactions and reporting concerns to the appropriate authorities, this bill helps prevent devastating financial losses before they occur.

Protecting Americans from financial exploitation requires strong coordination among families, financial institutions, brokers, financial advisers, and, of course, law enforcement. This bill would help strengthen those partnerships and provide additional tools to safeguard the most vulnerable among us from an avalanche of fraud and abuse.

Importantly, too, this bill is tailored to address suspected exploitation while preserving the rights of customers and maintaining appropriate oversight.

No American should lose their hard-earned money because an investment firm or financial institution lacks the authority or certainty to intervene where there are clear signs of exploitation that were present.

H.R. 2478 is a commonsense, bipartisan measure that helps protect our most vulnerable citizens from the growing number of financial predators.

I thank Chair Wagner and Mr. Gottheimer of New Jersey for their leadership on this important issue. I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), who is the chair of the Capital Markets Subcommittee. She has worked on this and has been a leader in every way she can in the House to protect our friends and our neighbors from financial fraud.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member and Mr. Gottheimer for working with the majority on this bill. I will add that this is a very complex subject across the board trying to protect our seniors and our consumers across the country, particularly in financial services.

I think this bill is a step in the right direction, but we have many other things that the committee has been working on on a bipartisan basis. The Postal Service, the Secret Service, the Federal communications oversight, Federal Trade Commission, all these Federal agencies have influence on whether we are going to beat the criminals at their game. As they get artificial intelligence and new technologies to try to get in the pocketbooks, in the investment statements, into the credit cards of American consumers and households, know that people like Ann Wagner, Josh Gottheimer, Maxine Waters, and French Hill are saying no.

We want to give the tools to our financial institutions and enforcement to do something about it, but it also takes an education of our families. You can't turn your password over to people. You can't trust people when they call you on the phone and tell you to bring $5,000 down to the courthouse or put money in a bitcoin ATM. We also have that obligation every day on this House floor to educate our families to trust but verify when somebody approaches them about their very, very valuable financial information.

A Member of Congress from North Carolina called me and said: Is there any way you would be willing to talk to this lawyer, this family in North Carolina? Husband and wife retired, the spouse, the wife, said: I have been called. I need to send $250,000 for this investment opportunity. The husband said: I don't know that we should do that. She said: Well, I have done my homework. She called the bank, Mr. Speaker, and said: Would you wire

$250,000 to this investment opportunity. And the banker said: Ms. Jones, I mean, are you sure? You have never done this before. You don't have that kind of money.

Mr. Speaker, I use that as a small example. It didn't turn out well, but it is about educating. Again, the work that Chairwoman Wagner and Representative Gottheimer are doing is what we need to be doing. We are going to continue to bring bills to this House floor that protect our households from the fraudsters that are now going parabolic in their talent to steal our money through artificial intelligence, cell phones, text messages, emails, romance schemes, whatever that is, but she pointed it out, and I am with her. We are going to do this together.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill. I thank the gentlewoman for bringing it to the floor today, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, my friend, Mr. Hill, for his tremendous support, his leadership, and for yielding his time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, H.R. 2478, the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act.

Far too often, back home in Missouri and across this Nation, our senior citizens are directly targeted for financial fraud. Like Chairman Hill, I, too, hear from scores and scores of constituents in my district who have fallen prey to these horrible, horrible scams and fraudsters.

The consequences of this crime extend to millions of Americans, with one out of every five senior investors falling victim to financial fraud and exploitation.

Sadly, the problem is only getting more severe.

According to the FTC, fraud perpetrated against those over the age of 60 increased by nearly 400 percent between 2020 and 2024, Mr. Speaker.

The total cost to American seniors reached almost $2.5 billion. Even worse, a significant portion of this increase is attributed to individual financial losses of over $100,000.

Think about that for a moment, Mr. Speaker. Seniors and retirees across our country work their entire lives to save for their future, and they depend on their savings to pay the bills, keep the lights on, and put food on the table. A loss of over $100,000 is absolutely devastating, and these financial crimes are being committed every single day.

We have the tools to fix this. There are gaps in Federal law that can be addressed to prevent this exploitation from occurring, and that is exactly what my bill does.

My bill, the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act, allows financial institutions, including investment companies like mutual funds, to temporarily delay a transaction if they have a reasonable belief that the transaction is the result of financial exploitation.

By allowing for this pause, the bill creates a crucial window of up to 15 days with the possibility of a 10-day extension that will provide the time necessary to investigate the situation and notify the appropriate authorities.

This gives potentially vulnerable investors, including our seniors, as well as those with certain disabilities, a crucial, extra layer of defense that will help preserve the hard-earned savings they have built over decades.

This bill would also establish a safe harbor for financial institutions that make a good-faith effort to prevent exploitation. By removing the fear of litigation, this change will empower the financial system to stop fraudsters in their tracks through timely and decisive action.

Finally, my bill requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to report to Congress on additional legislative solutions to further combat the financial exploitation of seniors and vulnerable adults.

This issue, fraud against our seniors, has gone on long enough, and we must take action.

Many of us have had the personal experience of caring for a parent or loved one as they grow older. They took care of us when we needed it most, and it is our responsibility, our duty, to return the favor.

This legislation, with strong bipartisan support, will create a new tool to protect parents, grandparents, and everyday American families across the United States.

I thank Congressman Gottheimer for joining me in introducing this bill. By working together, we can ensure that not only government but also the American financial system is doing everything possible to protect against fraud and exploitation.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge support of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the floor and missed roll call vote number 227. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 227 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 2478.

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