[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 955 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 955
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to create an
interdivisional taskforce at the Securities and Exchange Commission for
senior investors, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 23, 2023
Ms. Sinema (for herself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to create an
interdivisional taskforce at the Securities and Exchange Commission for
senior investors, and for other purposes.
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 2023'' or the ``Senior Security Act of 2023''.
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) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `appropriate committees of Congress'
means--
``(i) the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs of the Senate;
``(ii) the Special Committee on Aging of
the Senate; and
``(iii) the Committee on Financial Services
of the House of Representatives; and
``(B) the term `senior investor' means an investor
who is older than 65 years of age.
``(2) Establishment.--There is established within the
Commission the Senior Investor Taskforce (referred to in this
subsection as the `Taskforce').
``(3) 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.
``(4) Staffing.--
``(A) In general.--The Chairman shall ensure that--
``(i) the Taskforce is staffed sufficiently
to carry out fully the requirements of this
subsection; and
``(ii) the staff described in clause (i)
includes individuals from the Division of
Enforcement, the Office of Compliance
Inspections and Examinations, and the Office of
Investor Education and Advocacy.
``(B) Members of the public.--
``(i) In general.--A member of the public
may serve as a member of the Taskforce.
``(ii) Travel expenses.--The Chairman shall
provide to any member of the public serving as
a member of the Taskforce travel expenses,
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at
rates authorized for an employee of an agency
under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5,
United States Code, while away from the home or
regular place of business of the member in the
performance of the duties of the Taskforce.
``(C) Federal employees.--A member of the Taskforce
who is an employee of any agency, office, or other
establishment in the executive, legislative, or
judicial branch of the Federal Government shall receive
no additional compensation for performing the duties of
the member with respect to the Taskforce.
``(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 in paragraph (4)(A)(ii) 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.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and
(C), 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 submit to the Secretary of the Senate,
the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the
appropriate committees of Congress a biennial report
containing--
``(i) appropriate statistical information
and full and substantive analysis;
``(ii) a summary of recent trends and
innovations that have impacted the investment
landscape for senior investors;
``(iii) a summary of regulatory initiatives
that have concentrated on senior investors and
industry practices relating to senior
investors;
``(iv) key observations, best practices,
and areas needing improvement involving senior
investors identified during examinations,
enforcement actions, and investor education
outreach;
``(v) a summary of the most serious issues
encountered by senior investors, including
issues involving financial products and
services;
``(vi) an analysis with respect to--
``(I) existing policies and
procedures of brokers, dealers,
investment advisers, and other market
participants relating to senior
investors and topics involving senior
investors; and
``(II) whether the policies and
procedures described in subclause (I)
need to be further developed or
refined;
``(vii) recommendations for any legislative
action, and any changes to the regulations,
guidance, and orders of the Commission and
self-regulatory organizations, as may be
appropriate to resolve problems encountered by
senior investors; and
``(viii) any other information, as
determined appropriate by the Director of the
Taskforce.
``(B) First report.--The first report required
under this paragraph may not be submitted until after
the Comptroller General of the United States has
submitted, and the Taskforce has considered, the report
required under section 3 of the National Senior
Investor Initiative Act of 2023.
``(C) Electronic copies.--Each report submitted
under this paragraph to the Secretary of the Senate and
the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall include
an electronic version of the report, which any Member
of Congress may obtain, upon request to the applicable
official.
``(8) Use of existing funds.--The Commission shall carry
out this subsection using amounts otherwise made available to
the Commission and no additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this subsection.
``(9) Sunset.--The Taskforce shall terminate on the date
that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this
subsection.''.
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``senior citizen'' means an individual who is
older than 65 years of age; and
(2) the term ``Taskforce'' means the Senior Investor
Taskforce established under subsection (l) of section 4 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78d), as added by
section 2 of this Act.
(b) 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 Taskforce the results of a study of financial
exploitation of senior citizens.
(c) Contents.--The study required under subsection (b) shall
include information with respect to--
(1) the economic costs of the financial exploitation of
senior citizens, including--
(A) costs associated with losses by victims that
were incurred as a result of the financial exploitation
of senior citizens;
(B) costs 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) costs 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 of the United
States 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) the frequency of the financial exploitation of senior
citizens and correlated or contributing factors with respect to
that exploitation, including information regarding--
(A) the percentage of senior citizens financially
exploited each year; and
(B) factors that may contribute to an increased
risk of exploitation of senior citizens, including
race, social isolation, income, net worth, religion,
geographic location, occupation, education, home-
ownership, illness, and loss of spouse; and
(3) policy responses to, and the reporting of, the
financial exploitation of senior citizens, including--
(A) the degree to which financial exploitation of
senior citizens is not reported to the appropriate
authorities;
(B) the reasons that financial exploitation of
senior citizens may not be reported to the appropriate
authorities;
(C) to the extent that suspected financial
exploitation of senior citizens is reported,
information regarding--
(i) which entities receive those reports,
including--
(I) Federal, State, and local
agencies, including adult protective
services agencies and law enforcement
agencies; and
(II) private sector entities,
professional licensing boards, and
other regulators;
(ii) the specific types of information the
entities described in clause (i) collect;
(iii) the actions that the entities
described in clause (i) take upon the receipt
of such a report; and
(iv) any limits on the ability of the
entities described in clause (i) to prevent
that exploitation, such as jurisdictional
limits, a lack of expertise, resource
challenges, or limiting criteria with respect
to the types of victims the agencies are
permitted to serve;
(D) an analysis of gaps that may exist in
empowering Federal, State, and local agencies to--
(i) prevent the financial exploitation of
senior citizens; or
(ii) respond effectively to the suspected
financial exploitation of senior citizens; 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 the financial exploitation of
senior citizens.
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