Ted Deutch: “I thank my friend from California for the time and for her support of this legislation, and I thank Mr. Collins from…”

“I thank my friend from California for the time and for her support of this legislation, and I thank Mr. Collins from Georgia for his service and for his support of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our Nation's veterans. Our veterans distinguish themselves in service to our country, but that distinction is too often recognized and preyed upon by scam artists. H.R. 450, the Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act, will close a loophole in our criminal law and will give Federal law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on financial fraud schemes that target our veterans. My friend, veteran, and former Congressman Tom Rooney introduced this bill with me in the past two Congresses. It passed by a voice vote in the 115th Congress and passed unanimously 411-0 in the 114th. It is time to pass it again and to finally make it law to help our veterans. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to Representative Meadows for continuing this important bipartisan work to protect America's veterans. In a 2017 survey, AARP found that 78 percent of veterans receive scam pitches specifically targeted to their military service. They also found that 16 percent of veterans lost money to financial fraud over the past 5 years, double the rate of nonveterans. Mr. Speaker, I thank Greg Dover of Palm Beach County Veterans Services, who sounded the alarm and helped fight for this important legislation.…”