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. 6. Report to Congress 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

Each Federal agency that provides eligible Federal grant funds that are used for a purpose specified under section 3(a) shall issue an annual report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives , and the Committee on Banking, the Housing Judiciary of the Senate , and Urban the Affairs Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate House of Representatives containing the information received from law enforcement agencies under section 3(b).

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.

Each Federal agency that provides eligible Federal grant funds that are used for a purpose specified under section 3(a) shall issue an annual report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives containing the information received from law enforcement agencies under section 3(b).