Description:
S. 149 would establish an interagency advisory group, led by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to study strategies to prevent financial retailers, financial services companies, and wire transfer companies from perpetrating fraud on senior citizens. The group would consult with industry leaders, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations to identify best practices and create model materials that industry and government agencies could use to decrease such fraud. The FTC would report to the Congress each year on the group’s activities. The advisory group would disband five years after enactment. Using information from some of the affected agencies, CBO estimates that convening the advisory group would cost $1 million over the 2019-2024 period. Such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds and would cover administrative costs incurred by member agencies—including the FTC, the Department of the Treasury, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the Department of Justice—that are funded through discretionary appropriations. Enacting the bill would increase direct spending by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and also would reduce revenues from the Federal Reserve. Using information from those agencies, CBO estimates the following budgetary effects: The CFBP would spend less than $500,000 over five years to participate in the advisory group, Net spending by the FDCI would be negligible because the FDIC is authorized to collect premiums from the financial institutions it regulates to offset its costs, and Costs incurred by the Federal Reserve would reduce remittances to the Treasury, which are recorded in the budget at revenues, by less than $500,000 over the 2020-2024 period.
