,i #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hcba ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #aa1 #bjbb,mr4 ,lynch introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to establish a task force to protect members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families1 from financial fraud4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,military ,consumer ,protection ,task ,force ,act of #bjbb4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families continue to be disproportionately targeted and impacted by imposter scams1 investment-related schemes1 fake check scams1 veterans' charity scams1 pension poaching1 and other methods of financial fraud4 7#b7 ,financial fraud attacks targeting members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military dependents increased by #fi percent from #bjbj to #bjba4 7#c7 ,in #bjbj1 more than #ef1jjj military consumers submitted fraud reports to the ,federal ,trade ,commission indicating a collective fraud loss of approximately #ajb million2 in #bjba1 over #aaj1jjj military consumers submitted fraud reports to the ,federal ,trade ,commission indicating a collective fraud loss of approximately #bfg million1 a #afb percent increase in fraud loss over #bjbj4 7#d7 ,veterans alone reported a collective fraud loss of #agg million in #bjba1 with members of the ,armed ,forces reporting a nearly #fj million total fraud loss in #bjba4 7#e7 ,the exponential increase in financial fraud targeting members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families demands a robust and coordinated interagency approach that examines current and emerging fraudulent schemes to safeguard the financial security of our military consumers4 #c4 ,interagency task force to protect members1 veterans1 and military families from financial fraud 7a7 ,establishment ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 shall establish an ,interagency ,task ,force on ,financial ,fraud targeting members of the ,armed ,forces and veterans 7referred to in this section as the ,task ,force74 7b7 ,membership ,the ,task ,force established under this section shall include representatives from the following3 7#a7 ,the ,department of ,defense4 7#b7 ,the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 7#c7 ,the ,federal ,trade ,commission4 7#d7 ,the ,consumer ,financial ,protection ,bureau4 7#e7 ,the ,department of ,justice4 7#f7 ,the ,federal ,communications ,commission4 7#g7 ,the ,postal ,inspection ,service4 7#h7 ,three representatives1 appointed by the ,secretary of ,defense in consultation with the ,secretary of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 of non-governmental organizations 7at least one of whom is a representative of a veterans' service organization7 with expertise in identifying1 preventing1 and combatting financial fraud targeting members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families4 7c7 ,consultation ,the ,task ,force shall regularly consult with the following3 7#a7 ,members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and members of military families that have been victims of financial fraud4 7#b7 ,relevant ,federal agencies and departments that are not represented on the ,task ,force4 7#c7 ,other relevant public and private sector stakeholders1 including ,state and local law enforcement agencies1 financial services providers1 technology companies1 and social media platforms4 7d7 ,meetings ,the ,task ,force shall not meet less frequently than three times per calendar year4 7e7 ,purpose ,the purpose of the ,task ,force is to identify and examine current and developing methods of financial fraud targeting members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families and issue recommendations to enhance efforts undertaken by ,federal agencies to identify1 prevent1 and combat such financial fraud4 7f7 ,duties ,the duties of the ,task ,force shall include the following3 7#a7 ,collecting and reviewing robust data pertaining to medical billing1 credit reporting1 debt collection1 and other serious financial challenges facing members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families4 7#b7 ,identifying and reviewing current methods of financial exploitation targeting members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families1 including-- 7,a7 imposter or phishing scams2 7,b7 investment-related fraud2 7,c7 pension poaching2 7,d7 veterans benefit fraud2 7,e7 fraudulent offers pertaining to employment or business opportunities2 7,f7 predatory lending2 7,g7 veteran charity schemes2 7,h7 foreign money offers and fake check scams2 7,i7 mortgage foreclosure relief and debt management fraud2 7,j7 military allotment system abuse2 and 7,k7 military records fraud4 7#c7 ,identifying and evaluating the new financial risks that emerging financial technologies1 including buy-now-pay-later credit and digital payment ecosystems1 may present to members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families4 7#d7 ,evaluating the efficacy of current ,federal programs1 educational campaigns1 policies1 and statutes1 including the ,military ,lending ,act and the ,servicemembers ,civil ,relief ,act1 in preventing and combatting financial fraud targeting members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families4 7#e7 ,developing recommendations to enhance efforts of ,federal agencies to detect1 prevent1 and combat financial fraud targeting members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families4 7g7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act and annually thereafter1 the ,task ,force shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on its findings to date and recommendations to enhance the efforts of ,federal agencies to identify1 prevent1 and combat financial fraud targeting members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and military families4 7h7 ,appropriate congressional committees defined ,in this section1 the term appropriate congressional committees means the following3 7#a7 ,the ,committee on ,oversight and ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#c7 ,the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#d7 ,the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate4 7#e7 ,the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,senate4 7#f7 ,the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate4