Senior Security Act of 2021
Bill: S.856 | Sponsor: Sen. Sinema, Kyrsten (D-AZ)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2021 or the Senior Security Act of 2021
This bill establishes the Senior Investor Taskforce within the Securities and Exchange Commission. The taskforce must report on topics relating to investors over the age of 65, including industry trends and serious issues impacting such investors, and make recommendations for legislative or regulatory actions to address problems encountered by senior investors.
The Government Accountability Office must report on the financial exploitation of senior citizens.

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 2021'' or the ``Senior Security Act of 2021''.

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:
    ``(k) 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 2021.
                    ``(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 (k) 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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