The full House passed by vote a 370-48 late Wednesday H.R. 5914, the Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act, bipartisan legislation to create a grant program, implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, that would work closely with state securities regulators to protect older investors.
The bill would move the responsibility for administering the Senior Investor Protection Grant Program established by Section 989A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the SEC.
"Uncertainty around the CFPB's funding authority has sidelined the program for more than a decade," according to Reuters.
The bill would also establish an interdivisional task force within the SEC to review grant applications and oversee the administration of the program.
It would authorize $10 million annually in spending for fiscal years 2023 to 2028.
State securities regulators and state insurance regulators will be eligible for the grants. The amount of grant funding that could be awarded to any single "eligible entity" would be capped at $500,000.
