Statements on Introduced Bills and Joints Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - December 07, 2004)

By Mr. SMITH (for himself and Mr. CONRAD):

S. 3029. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage guaranteed lifetime income payments from annuities and similar payments of life insurance proceeds at dates later than death by excluding from income a portion of such payments; to the Committee on Finance.

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Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce a bill to create a new government reward hotline designed to solicit tips from Spanish-speaking immigrants and other groups that are more likely to be the silent victims of consumer fraud.
The hotline will allow anyone with knowledge of a fraud scheme involving deceptive advertising to get a reward for reporting it directly to the experts who work at the Federal Trade Commission.

This legislation addresses the unscrupulous businesses that target certain communities because they know the victims are less likely to report crimes. It will further the efforts of the Federal Trade Commission to combat this problem by creating an Office of Consumer Advocacy and Outreach within the Federal Trade Commission which will administer programs and services that make it easier for victims in these communities to hold wrong-doers accountable.

A Federal Trade Commission survey from earlier this year revealed that nearly 25 million adults in the United States, or 11.2 percent of the adult population, were victims of fraud, and that certain communities were more likely to fall prey to fraudulent schemes. For example, the survey found that Hispanics are twice as likely to be victims of fraud as non-Hispanic whites. A study conducted by the National Institute of Justice concluded that immigrant victims report crimes less frequently than other victims. The factors cited as contributing to this underreporting included language barriers, cultural differences, and a limited understanding of the United States Justice system.

During this past year the Federal Trade Commission has levied an increasing number of complaints against deceptive Spanish-
language advertisements, including fraudulent driving permits and junk computers. Two of these complaints were filed against businesses in South Florida that targeted Spanish speakers with advertisements for "scientifically unfeasible" weight-loss pills.
The Office of Consumer Advocacy and Outreach created by this bill will provide information to targeted consumers in these communities on how to protect themselves against fraudulent schemes and where to seek redress if they become a victim.
The Office will work with law enforcement to track and investigate fraud schemes that target immigrants, the elderly, minorities and other communities.

One of the ways the Office will work to increase reporting of fraud by Spanish-speakers, for example, will be to publicize the reward program through a Spanish-language public service advertising campaign produced by the Federal Trade Commission that warns against consumer fraud and provides the number for this newly created anonymous hotline.

Additionally, the Office will work with law enforcement to increase their level of participation in the Consumer Sentinel database system. This database, currently in existence, collects information from local, State and Federal agencies on consumer complaints to assist in the tracking and investigating of consumer fraud issues.

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