Brad Sherman, CA
“I support this bill. Scammers are bad. They use crypto to scam old people. The government should spend money to stop this. I want this bill to pass. I am worried. The bill says 'eligible Federal grant funds'. This might mean money is taken away from other important programs. Money should not be taken away from programs that help women. The bill needs clearer wording to protect those programs. I still support the bill.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. It helps police track cryptocurrency scams that steal billions of dollars from seniors and other victims. But we must make sure this does not take money away from programs that protect victims of domestic violence.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 2978, the GUARD Act, sponsored by Representatives Nunn and Gottheimer. The GUARD Act would allow State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to tap into certain Federal grant programs to support investigations into senior fraud, romance scams, and general financial fraud. The bill would also permit Federal law enforcement to assist State and local law enforcement with tracing tools for blockchain technology. This bill is particularly important because blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, is so often used in scams, and it is the Federal Government that has the best chance--and it is only a chance--of using technology to defeat the scams and to hold those responsible accountable. Certainly, now that we are faced with crypto scams, we need to react, and this bill is part of that reaction. This is a sensible bill that will help Americans who are losing literally billions of dollars to fraudsters and scammers. I support this bill, but I must express a significant concern of the Democratic Caucus that should be addressed. That is the potential misinterpretation or misuse of this bill to allow agencies to siphon funds from defined grant programs for unrelated purposes. One of the grant programs, for example, is found in the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA, which allows grants to nonprofits and local governments to provide support for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. I believe that all Members and organizations supporting this bill have no intent to deny grants or reduce grants to address domestic violence and sexual assault. This bill is not meant to be a way for the President to raid those funds. Rather, the bill intends to augment the funds and to cover areas where GUARD Act activities overlap with the existing grant programs, such as where the victim of domestic violence is also the target of a romance scam. I stress again that when the bill says ``eligible Federal grant funds,'' no Member voting on this bill intends to ignore or change the purpose of existing Federal grant programs from which the GUARD Act draws. Thus, going forward, this bill or our statutes must add clarifying language that makes it clear that VAWA and this bill's other programs are intended to combat financial fraud and abuse within the bounds of the grant programs that are listed. Mr. Speaker, with these concerns about our intent to fix the text of the bill noted, I urge colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 2978, the GUARD Act, sponsored by Representatives Nunn and Gottheimer. The GUARD Act would allow State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to tap into certain Federal grant programs to support investigations into senior fraud, romance scams, and general financial fraud. The bill would also permit Federal law enforcement to assist State and local law enforcement with tracing tools for blockchain technology. This bill is particularly important because blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, is so often used in scams, and it is the Federal Government that has the best chance--and it is only a chance--of using technology to defeat the scams and to hold those responsible accountable. Certainly, now that we are faced with crypto scams, we need to react, and this bill is part of that reaction. This is a sensible bill that will help Americans who are losing literally billions of dollars to fraudsters and scammers. I support this bill, but I must express a significant concern of the Democratic Caucus that should be addressed. That is the potential misinterpretation or misuse of this bill to allow agencies to siphon funds from defined grant programs for unrelated purposes. One of the grant programs, for example, is found in the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA, which allows grants to nonprofits and local governments to provide support for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. I believe that all Members and organizations supporting this bill have no intent to deny grants or reduce grants to address domestic violence and sexual assault. This bill is not meant to be a way for the President to raid those funds. Rather, the bill intends to augment the funds and to cover areas where GUARD Act activities overlap with the existing grant programs, such as where the victim of domestic violence is also the target of a romance scam. I stress again that when the bill says ``eligible Federal grant funds,'' no Member voting on this bill intends to ignore or change the purpose of existing Federal grant programs from which the GUARD Act draws. Thus, going forward, this bill or our statutes must add clarifying language that makes it clear that VAWA and this bill's other programs are intended to combat financial fraud and abuse within the bounds of the grant programs that are listed. Mr. Speaker, with these concerns about our intent to fix the text of the bill noted, I urge colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.