H.R. 2978

GUARD Act

Sponsor: Zachary Nunn

54 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act of 2026 or the GUARD Act of 2026

This bill allows state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive funds from certain law enforcement grant programs to use the funds to investigate general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, and pig butchering. Pig butchering refers to a confidence and investment fraud in which a victim is gradually lured into transferring increasing amounts of money, generally in the form of cryptocurrency, into a fake virtual investment. 

The bill allows federal law enforcement agencies to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and fusion centers in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology tools.

Finally, the bill requires the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to report on efforts to combat general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and scams, including an evaluation of any legislative recommendations to improve the efforts. The bill also requires FinCEN to report on the state of general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and scams in the United States, including trends in the crimes.

Text of the bill

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Sec. 4. Report on general financial fraud, pig butchering, and elder financial fraud Changed · Sep 15

Where this section came from

  1. Apr 21, 2025 · Introduced in House Referred to House Committee on Financial Services, Apr 21 Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary, Apr 21
  2. Sep 15, 2026 · Engrossed in House Marked up by House Committee on Financial Services, May 13 Reported by House Committee on Financial Services, Jun 24 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended — Passed, 414–7 · Roll Call 301
What changed in the text

No later than a year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury , and acting through the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , and in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the appropriate Federal banking agencies and Federal functional regulators , shall , jointly, submit to Congress a report on efforts and recommendations related to combat general financial fraud, pig butchering, elder financial fraud, and scams , including an evaluation of, and any legislative recommendations to improve, the efficacy of the efforts .

What is a markup?

A markup is a committee meeting where members go through a bill and vote on changes before sending it to the full chamber.

No later than a year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the appropriate Federal banking agencies and Federal functional regulators, shall submit to Congress a report on efforts to combat general financial fraud, pig butchering, elder financial fraud, and scams, including an evaluation of, and any legislative recommendations to improve, the efficacy of the efforts.