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Balderson Working to Protect Senior Citizens from COVID-19 Scams
Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH) joined Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) in introducing the Protecting Seniors From Emergency Scams Act, legislation that directs the Federal Trade Commission to report to Congress on the number and types of scams targeting seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic and make recommendations for how to prevent scams targeting seniors during the pandemic and future emergencies. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate last week.
“Throughout the pandemic, uncertainty has led to many Ohioans falling victim to scam callers – especially vulnerable populations like seniors,”
During a graduate course I taught this fall for Virginia Tech, I presented a basic reality of the legislative process in Washington, D.C.: it often goes from the perfect to the possible to the passable. The new COVID-19 relief law is a perfect illustration, especially for older Americans.
Credit: Adobe
In October 2020, the House of Representatives passed a bill which would have provided about $2.2 trillion in emergency aid. For aging services programs, it constituted the perfect, with $1.175 billion allocated to elder justice programs, housing assistance, government nutrition benefits, nursing home strike teams and more.
Last month, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled their $908 billion proposal the possible. The final COVID-19 relief law ($935 billion), eventually signed by President Trump, became the passable.