I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5914 
To amend the Investor Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010 to 
provide grants to States for enhanced protection of senior investors 
and senior policyholders, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 9, 2021 
Mr. GOTTHEIMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Investor Protection and Securities Reform 
Act of 2010 to provide grants to States for enhanced 
protection of senior investors and senior policyholders, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering States 
to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES FOR ENHANCED 
PROTECTION OF SENIOR INVESTORS AND 
SENIOR POLICYHOLDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 989A of the Investor Pro-
tection and Securities Reform Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 
5537) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 989A. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES FOR EN-
HANCED PROTECTION OF SENIOR INVES-
TORS AND SENIOR POLICYHOLDERS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) the securities commission (or any 
agency or office performing like functions) of 
any State; and 
‘‘(B) the insurance commission (or any 
agency or office performing like functions) of 
any State. 
‘‘(2) SENIOR.—The term ‘senior’ means any in-
dividual who has attained the age of 62 years or 
older. 
‘‘(3) SENIOR
FINANCIAL
FRAUD.—The term 
‘senior financial fraud’ means a fraudulent or other-
wise illegal, unauthorized, or improper act or process 
of an individual, including a caregiver or a fiduciary, 
that— 
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‘‘(A) uses the resources of a senior for 
monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain; 
‘‘(B) results in depriving a senior of right-
ful access to or use of benefits, resources, be-
longings, or assets; or 
‘‘(C) is an action described in section 1348 
of title 18, United States Code, that is taken 
against a senior. 
‘‘(4) TASK
FORCE.—The term ‘task force’ 
means the task force established under subsection 
(b)(1). 
‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) TASK FORCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 
establish a task force to carry out the grant 
program under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force shall 
consist of the following members: 
‘‘(i) A Chair of the task force, who— 
‘‘(I) shall be appointed by the 
Chairman of the Commission, in con-
sultation with the Commissioners of 
the Commission; and 
‘‘(II) may be a representative of 
the Office of the Investor Advocate of 
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grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities, 
which— 
‘‘(A) may use the grant funds— 
‘‘(i) to hire staff to identify, inves-
tigate, and prosecute (through civil, admin-
istrative, or criminal enforcement actions) 
cases involving senior financial fraud; 
‘‘(ii) to fund technology, equipment, 
and training for regulators, prosecutors, 
and law enforcement officers, in order to 
identify, investigate, and prosecute cases 
involving senior financial fraud; 
‘‘(iii) to provide educational materials 
and training to seniors to increase aware-
ness and understanding of senior financial 
fraud; 
‘‘(iv) to develop comprehensive plans 
to combat senior financial fraud; and 
‘‘(v) to enhance provisions of State 
law to provide protection from senior fi-
nancial fraud; and 
‘‘(B) may not use the grant funds for any 
indirect expense, such as rent, utilities, or any 
other general administrative cost that is not di-
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rectly related to the purpose of the grant pro-
gram. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF TASK FORCE.—In carrying 
out paragraph (2), the task force— 
‘‘(A) may consult with staff of the Com-
mission; and 
‘‘(B) shall make public all actions of the 
task force relating to carrying out that para-
graph. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity desiring a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
task force, in such form and in such a manner as the task 
force may determine, that includes— 
‘‘(1) a proposal for activities to protect seniors 
from senior financial fraud that are proposed to be 
funded using a grant under this section, including— 
‘‘(A) an identification of the scope of the 
problem of senior financial fraud in the applica-
ble State; 
‘‘(B) a description of how the proposed ac-
tivities would— 
‘‘(i) protect seniors from senior finan-
cial fraud, including by proactively identi-
fying victims of senior financial fraud; 
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‘‘(ii) assist in the investigation and 
prosecution of those committing senior fi-
nancial fraud; and 
‘‘(iii) discourage and reduce cases of 
senior financial fraud; and 
‘‘(C) a description of how the proposed ac-
tivities would be coordinated with other State 
efforts; and 
‘‘(2) any other information that the task force 
determines appropriate. 
‘‘(d) PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES; REPORTING RE-
QUIREMENTS; AUDITS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The task force— 
‘‘(A) may establish such performance ob-
jectives and reporting requirements for eligible 
entities receiving a grant under this section as 
the task force determines are necessary to carry 
out and assess the effectiveness of the program 
under this section; and 
‘‘(B) shall require each eligible entity that 
receives a grant under this section to submit to 
the task force a detailed accounting of the use 
of grant funds, which shall be submitted at 
such time, in such form, and containing such 
information as the task force may require. 
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‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 
date of the enactment of the Empowering States to 
Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act, the task force 
shall submit to the Committee on Financial Services 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Sen-
ate a report that— 
‘‘(A) specifies each recipient of a grant 
under this section; 
‘‘(B) includes a description of the pro-
grams that are supported by each such grant; 
and 
‘‘(C) includes an evaluation by the task 
force of the effectiveness of such grants. 
‘‘(3) AUDITS.—The task force shall annually 
conduct an audit of the program under this section 
to ensure that eligible entities to which grants are 
made under that program are, for the year covered 
by the audit, using grant funds for the intended pur-
poses of those funds. 
‘‘(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant to 
an eligible entity under this section may not exceed 
$500,000, which the task force shall adjust annually to 
reflect the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index 
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for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. 
‘‘(f) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible entity that receives a 
grant under this section may, in consultation with the task 
force, make a subgrant, as the eligible entity determines 
is necessary or appropriate— 
‘‘(1) to carry out the activities described in sub-
section (b)(2)(A); and 
‘‘(2) which may not be used for any activity de-
scribed in subsection (b)(2)(B). 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Re-
form and Consumer Protection Act is amended by striking 
the item relating to section 989A and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘Sec. 989A. Grants to eligible entities for enhanced protection of senior inves-
tors and senior policyholders.’’. 
Æ 
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