The Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act signed into law by the President today will help crack down on elder abuse by strengthening oversight and accountability for guardians and conservators
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX) announced that their bipartisan legislation to protect seniors from neglect and financial exploitation was signed into law by the President today. The Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act will help crack down on elder abuse by strengthening oversight and accountability for guardians and conservators.
“Helping to protect seniors is a matter of both decency and dignity. They deserve to live happy, healthy lives free from fear of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation by their guardians,” Klobuchar said. “Our bipartisan law moves us closer to strengthening oversight and accountability for those entrusted with the well-being of our seniors.”
“The last thing senior citizens should have to worry about is being taken advantage of by the very people appointed to care for them,” Cornyn said. “This law will provide STRONGER accountability FOR LEGAL guardians so we can better protect our nation’s elders from abuse and fraud.”
Klobuchar and Cornyn’s bipartisan legislation was signed into law as part of the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act. The Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act makes courts eligible for an already existing program designed to protect seniors. Under the program, state courts will be able to apply for funding to assess the handling of proceedings relating to guardians and conservators, and then make the necessary improvements to their practices. For example, the courts could conduct background checks on potential guardians and conservators, or implement an electronic filing system to better monitor and audit conservatorships and guardianships.
Throughout her time in the Senate, Klobuchar has been fighting to ensure that all Americans have safety, dignity, and good health in their senior years. The bipartisan Seniors Fraud Prevention Act, which Klobuchar introduced with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), passed the Senate in August. The bill would help fight scams designed to strip seniors of their assets by educating seniors about fraud schemes and improving monitoring of and response to fraud complaints. In 2015, Klobuchar reintroduced the Americans Giving Care to Elders (AGE) Act to help reduce the financial burden on families by establishing a federal tax credit to assist with the costs of caring for an aging family member. She has also been a leader in curbing the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, improving and strengthening Medicare, and protecting American consumers by leading major bipartisan legislation, such as the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act, the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act, and the Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act.
###
