Tom Harkin: “Today, I am introducing, on behalf of myself, Senators Hutchinson, Reid, Bryan, and Rockefeller, the Social Security…”

“Today, I am introducing, on behalf of myself, Senators Hutchinson, Reid, Bryan, and Rockefeller, the Social Security Consumer Protection Act. This is a simple, commonsense legislation that will arm consumers with the information they need to protect themselves from a growing type of consumer scam. Several years ago Congress took an important step toward stamping out frauds against older Americans. We passed a law making it illegal for companies to prey upon senior citizens and others by misrepresenting an affiliation with Social Security or Medicare. After some delay, the Social Security inspector general has begun to enforce this important new consumer protection law. However, we are finding that many scam artists are squirming through a loophole in the law that allows them to charge unwitting consumers for services that are available free of charge from Social Security or Medicare. A recent investigation by my staff found that unsuspecting consumers--from new parents to senior citizens--are falling prey to con artists charging them for services that are available free of charge from the Social Security Administration.”