[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2922 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 40
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2922
[Report No. 117-57]
To amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act to authorize
the Elder Justice Initiative, to require that online resources of such
initiative are made available in Spanish, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 30, 2021
Ms. Garcia of Texas (for herself and Mrs. Spartz) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
June 11, 2021
Additional sponsors: Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas,
Mr. Cicilline, Mr. McKinley, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr.
San Nicolas, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Nadler, Mrs. Bice of Oklahoma, and Ms.
Jackson Lee
June 11, 2021
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April
30, 2021]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act to authorize
the Elder Justice Initiative, to require that online resources of such
initiative are made available in Spanish, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Elder Abuse Protection Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. ELDER JUSTICE INITIATIVE.
Section 101(b) of the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act
(34 U.S.C. 21711(b)) is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Elder Justice Initiative.--
``(1) Permanent initiative.--The Attorney General shall
establish an Elder Justice Initiative to coordinate criminal
enforcement and public engagement efforts to combat elder
abuse, neglect, and financial fraud and scams that target
elders, and to support and coordinate the efforts of the Elder
Justice Coordinator designated under subsection (a).
``(2) Department of justice elder justice coordinator.--The
Attorney General shall designate an Elder Justice Coordinator
within the Department of Justice who, in addition to any other
responsibilities, shall be responsible for--
``(A) coordinating and supporting the law
enforcement efforts and policy activities as the head
of the Elder Justice Initiative for the Department of
Justice on elder justice issues;
``(B) evaluating training models to determine best
practices and creating or compiling and making publicly
available replication guides and training materials for
law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges,
emergency responders, individuals working in victim
services, adult protective services, social services,
and public safety, medical personnel, mental health
personnel, financial services personnel, and any other
individuals whose work may bring them in contact with
elder abuse regarding how to--
``(i) conduct investigations in elder abuse
cases;
``(ii) address evidentiary issues and other
legal issues; and
``(iii) appropriately assess, respond to,
and interact with victims and witnesses in
elder abuse cases, including in administrative,
civil, and criminal judicial proceedings; and
``(C) carrying out such other duties as the
Attorney General determines necessary in connection
with enhancing the understanding, prevention, and
detection of, and response to, elder abuse.
``(3) Online public resources.--The Elder Justice
Initiative shall maintain and publish on the internet,
information aimed at protecting elders from fraudulent schemes
and contain resources aimed at preventing elder abuse.
``(4) Telephone hotline.--The Attorney General, in
consultation with the Elder Justice Coordinator and the Office
of Victims of Crime, shall establish a national elder fraud
telephone hotline to provide support to victims and resources
to help victims, including referrals to federal, local and
state law enforcement where appropriate.
``(5) Tribal consultation.--The Elder Justice Coordinator
shall provide recommendations to the Office of Tribal Justice
on a yearly basis on how to address elder abuse and elder fraud
that takes place on federally recognized tribal reservations.
``(6) Legal aid.--The Elder Justice Coordinator shall
consult with components of the Department of Justice to promote
the provision of civil legal aid to victims of elder abuse and
elder fraud.
``(7) Spanish language resources.--The Attorney General
shall ensure that Elder Justice Initiative online resources are
available in Spanish and link linguistically appropriate
resources to inform Spanish-speaking elders of Federal and
State resources to combat fraud and abuse that targets the
elderly, to include--
``(A) Spanish-language resources and links that
help report instances of elder fraud and abuse to State
and local law enforcement; and
``(B) resources that help prevent financial
exploitation of elders.''.
Union Calendar No. 40
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2922
[Report No. 117-57]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act to authorize
the Elder Justice Initiative, to require that online resources of such
initiative are made available in Spanish, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 11, 2021
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed