WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2978, the Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception (GUARD) Act, by a vote of 414 to 7, to provide state and local law enforcement agencies access to additional funding to protect seniors from fraud schemes. Introduced by Congressman Zach Nunn (IA-02), this bill was cosponsored by Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02).
“I am glad to see this commonsense legislation advance out of the House of Representatives to protect seniors from fraud with wide bipartisan support,” said Congressman Guthrie. “As technology continues to rapidly advance, so too does scammers’ ability to target and defraud Americans – especially our senior population. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation and am confident it will help our local law enforcement hire additional officers to protect Kentuckians for years to come.”
Background:
The GUARD Act allows state and local law enforcement to use funding from certain existing federal law enforcement grant programs to facilitate the retention and training of personnel, and other enforcement activities associated with the countering of general financial fraud, elder fraud, and confidence schemes such as relationship scams, phishing, and fraudulent investment offers.
This legislation would mandate that local and state agencies utilizing these funds report how they are implementing them and require the issuing federal agency to report annually on how the grants are being utilized.
The Federal Trade Commission reported that Americans lost nearly $16 billion in fraud schemes in 2025, with the actual amount being estimated at over $190 billion, as many of these schemes go unreported by victims.
This legislation is supported by various national groups, including the AARP, the National Police Association, and the National Sheriffs' Association.
