Survivor Financial Safety and Inclusion Working Group Act

Bill: 118-s-3835
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
Introduced: 2024-02-29
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Latest action: action_date: 2024-02-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2024-02-29
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Survivor Financial Safety and Inclusion Working Group Act</strong></p><p>This bill establishes an interagency working group of financial regulators to study domestic violence and economic abuse carried out through regulated financial institutions. The working group must study and report on approaches for collecting relevant data, suggestions for improvements to financial products and services, considerations for the needs of underserved communities, and legislative or regulatory authorities necessary to implement the working group’s recommendations.</p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3835 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 29, 2024 Ms. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To establish an interagency Working Group to study financial safety and inclusion for survivors, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Survivor Financial Safety and Inclusion Working Group Act . 2. Working Group for Financial Safety and Inclusion for Survivors (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered agency The term covered agencies means the following: (A) The Department of the Treasury. (B) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. (C) The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. (D) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (E) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. (F) The National Credit Union Administration. (G) The Securities and Exchange Commission. (H) The State insurance regulators. (2) Domestic violence The term domestic violence means the use or attempted use of physical abuse or sexual abuse, or a pattern of any other coercive behavior committed, enabled, or solicited to gain or maintain power and control over a survivor, including verbal, psychological, economic, or technological abuse that may or may not constitute criminal behavior, by a person who— (A) is a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the survivor, or person similarly situated to a spouse of the survivor; (B) is cohabitating, or has cohabitated, with the survivor as a spouse or intimate partner; (C) shares a child in common with the survivor; or (D) commits acts against a youth or adult survivor who is protected from those acts under the family or domestic violence laws of the jurisdiction. (3) Economic abuse The term economic abuse means behavior that is coercive, deceptive, or unreasonably controls or restrains the ability of a person to acquire, use, or maintain economic resources to which they are entitled, including using coercion, fraud, or manipulation, to— (A) restrict access of a person to money, assets, credit, or financial information; (B) unfairly use the personal economic resources of another person, including money, assets, and credit, for the advantage of the person; (C) exert undue influence over the financial and economic behavior or decisions of another person, including forcing default on joint or other financial obligations; (D) exploit powers of attorney, guardianship, or conservatorship; or (E) fail or neglect to act in the best interest of another person to whom one has a fiduciary duty. (4) Indian tribe The term Indian tribe means an Indian tribe included on the list published by the Secretary of the Interior under section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 ( 25 U.S.C. 5131 ). (5) Low- or moderate-income community The term low- or moderate-income community means a census tract designated as low-income or moderate-income by the Financial Institutions Examinations Council on a public website of the Council. (6) Regulated financial institution The term regulated financial institution means— (A) a depository institution, as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1813 ); (B) a Federal credit union or a State credit union, as those terms are defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1752 ); (C) an investment adviser, as defined in section 202(a) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ( 15 U.S.C. 80b–2(a) ); (D) a broker or dealer, as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78c(a) ); (E) an insurance company, as defined in section 2(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 ( 15 U.S.C. 80a–2(a) ); (F) any business entity that sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance coverage; (G) a transfer agent, as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78c(a) ); (H) an individual who is required under State law to be licensed to sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance coverage; and (I) an individual who— (i) is employed by, or associated with, an investment adviser; and (ii) does not perform solely clerical or ministerial acts. (7) Rural area The term rural area means any county that is mostly rural or completely rural in the latest available decennial census. (8) State The term State means each of the several States of the United States and the District of Columbia. (9) Survivor The term survivor means an individual who is or has previously been subjected to domestic violence, including economic abuse. (10) Territory of the United States The term territory of the United States means— (A) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; (B) Guam; (C) American Samoa; (D) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and (E) the United States Virgin Islands. (11) Working Group The term Working Group means the interagency working group established under subsection (b). (b) Establishment There is established an interagency working group to study the following: (1) How Congress and covered agencies can support regulated financial institutions in safely and confidentially collecting data on— (A) the types and prevalence of economic abuse tactics that are being carried out through regulated financial institutions; and (B) the impacts of economic abuse tactics on consumers and regulated financial institutions. (2) Data from regulated financial institutions on the statistics, trends, and impacts of economic abuse carried out through regulated financial institutions. (3) How regulated financial institutions can improve existing financial products and services and design and offer new financial products and services specially tailored to meet the financial and safety needs of survivors. (4) How the recommendations and guidance provided by the Working Group account for any additional financial or safety needs of historically underbanked and underserved communities, including rural communities, low- or moderate-income communities, Indian tribes, and territories of the United States. (5) Any legislative or regulatory authority necessary to implement any recommendations or guidance provided by the Working Group. (c) Membership The Working Group shall be comprised of the following: (1) The head of each of the following, or the head’s designee: (A) The Department of the Treasury. (B) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. (C) The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. (D) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (E) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. (F) The National Credit Union Administration. (G) The Securities and Exchange Commission. (2) A State insurance commissioner selected by the State insurance commissioners (through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners). (3) One individual with expertise in economic abuse and experience working with and advocating on behalf of survivors of domestic violence, appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury. (4) One individual with expertise in consumer protection and experience working with and advocating on behalf of consumers, appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury. (5) One individual who is a member of, and has experience working with and advocating on behalf of, communities that have been historically underbanked and unbanked, including rural communities, low- or moderate-income households, Indian tribes, and territories of the United States, appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury. (6) Any other individuals, but no more than 4, appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, as the Secretary determines appropriate. (d) Chairperson The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s designee, as applicable) shall serve as the chairperson of the Working Group. (e) Terms (1) In general A member of the Working Group shall serve a term of 2 years. (2) Limitation Each individual appointed under paragraphs (3) through (6) of subsection (c) may only serve 1 term. (3) First term The first term of the Working Group shall begin on January 1st of the first calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act. (f) Meetings The Working Group shall convene not later than 60 days after the beginning of the first term of the Working Group and shall meet not less frequently than twice a year thereafter. (g) Compensation Members of the Working Group shall receive no additional compensation by reason of their service on the Working Group. (h) Travel expenses Members of the Working Group shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from home or regular places of business in performance of service for the Working Group. (i) Annual reports (1) In general The Working Group shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives an annual report regarding— (A) the activities of the Working Group; and (B) the study required under subsection (b). (2) Public availability The report under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly available online and in accessible format that complies with section 4(b) of the Plain Writing Act of 2010 ( 5 U.S.C. 301 note) and Executive Order 13166 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000d–1 note; relating to access to services for persons with limited English proficiency). (j) Congressional testimony The head of an agency described under subparagraphs (A) through (G) of subsection (c)(1) shall, when providing the semiannual written testimony and appearing before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, include information on the activities of the agency as part of the Working Group. (k) Transparency To the greatest extent practicable, the Working Group shall operate in a transparent manner that adheres to the requirements of chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, with the exception that the Working Group shall be permitted to freely communicate both during and between meetings in a confidential manner to discuss non-public information and other sensitive and nonpublic issues.