CUNA: Financial elder abuse, federal funding focus in Congress

The Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a full committee hearing Wednesday on “Trust Betrayed: Financial Abuse of Older Americans by Guardians and Others in Power.”

CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan said Monday this is the only hearing of note this week, as CUNA and others are working to move the Senior$afe Act through the Senate before Congress adjourns for the year. The House has already passed a version of the legislation, and Congress would need time to reconcile modest differences between the House and Senate bills before enactment into law, which makes this hearing all the more timely.

The Senior$afe Act (H.R. 4538 and S. 2216) would provide limited immunity for certain financial services employees who report concerns about suspected elder financial abuse.

In letters of support for the legislation, CUNA has written that the member-credit union relationship often puts credit union employees in a key position to detect suspicious activities, but they can sometimes be constrained from reporting suspicions by various privacy laws.

 

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