Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6125, the Online Dating Safety Act of 2023, sponsored by my good friend and colleague, David Valadao. Over the last three decades, online dating platforms have transformed the way people find their partners. According to the Pew Research Center, 30 percent of U.S. adults say they have used a dating app or site, many of whom say it has made the dating process much easier. However, these technologies have also led to the rise of dating scams and fraud, unfortunately, and the FTC reported that romance scams resulted in victims losing $1.3 billion in 2022. There are countless examples of victims losing their investments and retirements. One victim was tragically driven to suicide after losing his life savings. That is terrible. H.R. 6125 seeks to protect users of online dating platforms against harmful and fraudulent accounts by requiring platforms to send a fraud ban notification to a user who has been communicating with a suspended account or profile. This crucial step of communication and transparency has been missing from online dating platforms. This is an opportunity to create a safety mechanism to better protect Americans from falling victim to such devastating scams. The bill advanced out of committee with unanimous support, a bipartisan vote of 44-0. I look forward to the bill passing the House this week. Really, we have got to take care of this.…”