{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fitzgerald.house.gov/media/press-releases/fitzgerald-led-bill-protecting-retirees-scams-passes-house-representatives", "Fitzgerald-Led Bill Protecting Retirees from Scams Passes House of Representatives", "2026-09-15", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "WI", "Scott Fitzgerald", "F000471", "fitzgerald.house.gov", "fitzgerald", "https://fitzgerald.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, the Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception (GUARD) Act, bipartisan legislation Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) introduced alongside Congressman Zach Nunn (IA-03) and Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), passed the House of Representatives.\n\nThe GUARD Act was introduced with one critical goal in mind\u2014to combat financial fraud scams that target hardworking Americans. Scams have become increasingly complex, cross-jurisdictional, and technology-driven. Pig butchering schemes often combine social engineering, fake investment platforms, romance or confidence fraud, and cryptocurrency transactions that move quickly across wallets, exchanges, and borders.\n\nState, local, and tribal law enforcement are often the first point of contact for scam victims, but many agencies lack dedicated personnel, blockchain tracing tools, training, and coordination channels with financial institutions and federal law enforcement.\n\nThe GUARD Act addresses this gap by allowing existing federal grant funds to be used more directly for financial fraud investigations, training, technology, data collection, and law enforcement coordination.\n\n\u201cAs technology continues to evolve, so do the tactics used by criminals to defraud hardworking Americans. The House passage of the GUARD Act is an important step toward giving state and local law enforcement the tools they need to combat financial fraud and protect victims,\u201d said Rep. Fitzgerald. \u201cBy harnessing innovative technologies like blockchain, we can stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated scams and better protect Wisconsin seniors and families. I\u2019m proud to co-lead this effort, and I urge my Senate colleagues to take up the GUARD Act and pass it swiftly.\u201d\n\n\u201cIowa retirees spent a lifetime building their savings, and scammers are using increasingly sophisticated technology to steal it out from under them,\u201d said Rep. Nunn. \u201cThe GUARD Act came directly from an Iowa sheriff's deputy who told me officers were watching criminals steal the life savings of hardworking Iowans but lacked the tools to track them down and recover the money. Today, the House voted to give state and local law enforcement the resources they need to pursue fraudsters, recover stolen funds, and deliver justice for victims. I urge the Senate to take it up without delay and get these protections to the Iowans who need them.\u201d\n\nBACKGROUND: Financial fraud, elder exploitation, and cryptocurrency-enabled scams continue to impose significant losses on American consumers, particularly seniors. The FTC reported that consumers lost about $16 billion to fraud in 2025, the highest level on record, while reported fraud losses in 2024 totaled $12.5 billion. The FBI\u2019s 2024 Internet Crime Report found that IC3 received 859,532 complaints with losses exceeding $16.6 billion, including more than $6.5 billion in cryptocurrency-related investment fraud losses.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-16T09:43:13Z", "2026-09-16T09:44:22Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fitzgerald.house.gov/media/press-releases/fitzgerald-led-bill-protecting-retirees-scams-passes-house-representatives"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4099366962909698, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}