Congressman Tom MacArthur co-sponsors bills aimed at protecting senior citizens
New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, which is Ocean and Burlington County, is home to the highest senior population in the state. Shore Republican Representative Tom MacArthur is co-sponsoring two bills aimed at protecting our elderly family and friends.
The 'Senior Citizen Protection Act' requires the U.S. DOJ to set guidelines for states to follow in targeting elder abuse crimes.
"Guidelines on elder abuse issues include creating registries so that people that are guilty in one state are recorded and they can't just move to another state and do the same things," MacArthur said.
MacArthur says this bill would put every state on the same page to share Intel on past crimes committed by these offenders.
"It's a growing problem. The scandals that take place online where people try to prey on unwitting investors and bilk them out of their life savings," MacArthur said. "They try to scare seniors sometimes into feeling that they've done something wrong and they better pay up or they'll be in trouble."
He says there's a number of elder abuse related crimes on the rise and this bill seeks to help curb that and provide assistance for states to get help from the federal government.
"Rather than each state doing their own thing and these criminals skirting in between the states, this bill would bring some coordination and some common standards so that people can't just go from state to state," MacArthur said. "In some cases they call from out of the country."
He says raising awareness is another step in preventing more people from falling victim to these scams.
There are over 51-hundred senior corp volunteers in New Jersey, 12-hundred youngsters are tutored by foster grandparents and there are more than 450 local organizations benefiting from senior volunteers.
MacArthur has co-sponsored a resolution recognizing the contributions of senior volunteers to the community.
"These sorts of efforts by our seniors need to be recognized, they need to be supported and they're making a difference for young people," MacArthur said.
He says there's such an enormous influence by senior citizens on the younger generations and it's a big reason why they grow up to be who they are.
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