Tag Archives for Senate Special Committee on Aging

Senate Aging Committee tackles AI generated scams

Published in RINewsToday on January 8, 2024

Over two months ago, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman, Bob Casey (D-PA), put the spotlight on Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven fraud and scams. During the Nov. 16 hearing held in SD-106, “Modern Scams: How Scammers Are Using Artificial Intelligence & How We Can Fight Back,” the Senate panel highlighted the most common scams targeting seniors in 2023 with a focus on how scammers are using AI to create voice-clones and deep fakes to deploy scams and convince targets of their veracity. The hearing also explored how AI is being used to enhance fraud detection technology.

During the Senate panel hearing, lasting one hour and a half, Chairman Casey announced the Senate Aging Committee’s release of its annual Fraud Book, and brochure on AI-powered  scams and a bookmark featuring tips to avoid scams. Chairman Casey also noted he would approach the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to request information about the agency’s work to track the use of AI scams targeted to older Americans.  On Dec. 5, Casey sent a letter to the FTC urging the agency to track AI scams.

Senate Panel Takes a Look at AI’s Good and Bad

“Today, we heard disturbing testimony about scammers using artificial intelligence to make their ploys more life-like and convincing,” said Chairman Casey in his opening remarks. “Any consumer, no matter their age, gender, or background, can fall victim  to these ultra-convincing scams, and the stories we heard today from individuals across the country are heartbreaking. As a parent and grandparent, I relate to the fear and concern these victims must feel. Federal action is needed to put up guardrails to protect consumers from AI—while also empowering those that can use it for good,” he said.

At the Senate Panel hearing, Ranking Member Mike Braun of Indiana warned that an increasing number of sophisticated fraudsters are carrying out AI attacks on seniors by utilizing voice-cloning and deepfakes to create images nearly identical to a real-live  person to dupe consumers into giving away valuable information and money.

“In context of frauds and scams, AI can be leverage negatively – but it can also be part of the solution,” says Braun.

According to Braun, the private sector has used AI and machine learning since the 1990s to combat fraud.  He called on the federal government to embrace similar technology by testing promising solutions to systems that suffer the most fraud, like Medicare.

Gary Schildhorn, a Philadelphia attorney told the Senate panel about his story of an attempted scam against him where his son’s voice was cloned by AI.  When he received a call that sounded like his son Brett, saying he had been in a car accident and needed $9,000 to post bail, he almost fell for the scam.

“There was no doubt in my mind that it was his voice on the phone—it was the exact cadence with which he speaks.  I sat motionless in my car just trying to process these events. How did they get my son’s voice? The only conclusion I can come up with is that they used artificial intelligence, or AI, to clone his voice…it is manifestly apparent that this technology… provide a risk-less avenue for fraudsters to prey on us,” says Schildhorn.

In his testimony, Steve Weisman, an Amherst attorney with Margolis, Bloom & D’Agostino who teaches white-collar crime at Bentley College in Waltham, pointed to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel report for 2022, revealing that seniors reported more than $1.6 billion in losses to frauds and scams. But the actual amount could be as high as $48.4 billion, he says, because many were afraid to report losing money due to embarrassment or sham.

Seniors Tempting Target to AI Scammers

Seniors are the target of scammers because “that is where the money is,” notes Weisman, because they may have a “life time of accumulated savings that make them a tempting target for scammers.”

According to Weisman, AI has created additional opportunities for phone call scams,  because it can be used to remove foreign accents from scammers voices, making them appear more reliable.  AI created Robocall scripts can enable conversations with the scammer’s targeted victims, too.  Finally, AI cloning technology can make the targeted victim below they are talking to a loved one.

Weisman says that AI can be used by scammers to set up social media bots that appear to come from “real” people.  This allows them to create large numbers of believable bots to promote numerous scams, particularly involving cryptocurrency.

Scammers are now using AI technology more effectively in romance and family emergency scams, too, warns Weisman. 

AI can create fake profiles on multiple dating platforms, writing a grammatically correct biography, making it easier for scammers in foreign countries who are not familiar with speaking English. AI can also create photos or deepfakes for the profile, he says.

Weisman told the panel that AI generating software can create an audio voice that sounds exactly like that of the grandchild, using as little as 30 seconds worth of the grandchild’s voice.

Seeking a Balanced Approach

“The interplay of AI and scams brings forth both challenges and opportunities. Striking a careful balance between fostering AI innovations and protecting vulnerable populations is paramount,” says Dr. Tahir Ekin, of the San Marcus, Texas -based McCoy College of Business.

“In the fight against AI driven scams, awareness and AI literacy are crucial weapons,” says Ekin. “Existing efforts that educate seniors on safe digital practices, such as the work FTC Federal Advisory Council and the “Pass It On” campaign, can be enhanced to include AI related scams,” he says.

Tom Romanoff, Director, Technology at the Washington, DC-based Bipartisan Policy Center, stated, “As the good of this technology is being explored, we must acknowledge AI’s risks and seek a balanced approach, focusing on curtailing abuse while promoting positive uses and innovations.”

“As I stated in the beginning, we must tackle the abuse while driving toward positive application to safeguard its adoption,” says Romanoff.

To view the Senate Aging hearing, held on Nov. 16, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CMhzgQdz_I.

For a copy of Fighting Fraud: Top Scams in 2022,  go to https://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fraud_book_2023__english.pdf

Casey Calls on Federal Agencies to Enhance Web Access for People with Disabilities, Seniors

Published in RINewsToday on February 27, 2023

After Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced on March 20, 2020, the bipartisan Department of Veterans Affairs Website Accessibility Act with Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), the legislative proposal passed both chambers to ultimately be signed into law nine months later by President Donald Trump. The new law directed the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to report to Congress regarding the he accessibility of VA websites to people with disabilities.

Casey calls for better website technology 

On Dec. 20, 2022, Casey released Unlocking the Virtual Front Door, a 72-page report detailing the findings of an 11-month investigation that found widespread failure across the federal government to ensure that website technology is accessible for people with disabilities, seniors, and veterans. The investigators identified the absence of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reporting as a contributing factor to widespread accessibility gaps at the numerous federal departments and agencies.

On June 30, 2022, Casey led a bipartisan group of Senators respondence led by Casey in sending correspondence to DOJ Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding answers from the agency on its lack of website accessibility for people with disabilities. 

Earlier that month, Casey also had sent correspondence to VA Secretary Denis McDonough urging the agency to improve VA website accessibility for disabled veterans.

Casey also released a report from the VA from the VA which found that only 10 percent of VA websites are fully accessible for people with disabilities, as required by law, posing barriers to deaf, blind and paralyzed veterans as well as tens of thousands of veterans with other disabilities. 

On July 28, 2022, Casey’s Senate Aging Committee held a hearing that further investigated the issue the issue of federal website accessibility.

With Casey’s ongoing pressure, ultimately DOJ would finally release a report last week  for the first time in a decade.  

Reaction’s to DOJ’s website data release

Casey, Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, quickly reacted to the release of DOJ data in a Feb. 22, 2023, press release, noting that the agency was required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to provide a report to Congress and the President every two years on federal technology accessibility. “Despite this mandate, the latest report was from 2012, leaving taxpayers in the dark for over a decade about the accessibility of government technology, including websites, for people with disabilities,” said the press release.

While new data confirmed the findings of Casey’s recent investigation that exposed widespread accessibility barriers to federal technology, the press release criticized the data as “insufficient and incomplete,” calling on DOJ and the entire federal government to prioritize technology and web accessibility and transparency.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the federal government to make all its website information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Unfortunately, because of ongoing barriers to federal website and technology access, Casey charges that many people with disabilities—including seniors and veterans—are being barred from accessing key government resources, facing barriers to accessing information about COVID-19, filing claims and accessing health care, using VA kiosks, and more.

Casey’s repeated calls for data for transparency confirmed by his investigation that revealed that people with disabilities are being locked out of government services and are not given a level playing field in federal workplaces due to inaccessible technology. ”Unfortunately, after a decade of keeping the public in the dark, DOJ has not provided Americans with disabilities insight into what progress has been made over that time period—which will make it harder for the federal government to remedy these issues and ultimately improve web and technology accessibility,” says the Pennsylvania Senator. “It is clear that the federal government has a lot more work to do to make technology accessibility and transparency a priority and fulfill our promise to Americans with disabilities, older adults, and veterans,” he said.

Casey urged the DOJ to improve transparency around Section 508 compliance by returning to their mandated biennial reporting and ensuring their reports are modeled more closely after the agency’s 2012 web report  instead of an abridged data set that DOJ released last week 

Taking a closer look 

DOJ’s recently released report, based on data from Feb. 2021 through August 2022, compiled in partnership with the General Services Administration, found that one in 10 public-facing websites at major federal departments and agencies are not fully accessible for people with disabilities. In addition, three in five internal websites at major federal departments and agencies are not fully accessible to people with disabilities.

According to the data, the Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of State, and VA reported that 50 percent or less of the public-facing websites that were tested comply with federal accessibility requirements.

The DOJ data noted that some departments and federal agencies did not report conducting any accessibility testing of internal websites. It not clear what steps departments and agencies are taking to test other types of technology covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. 

DOJ data indicated that key government agencies, including DOJ itself, as well as the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, and the Environmental Protection Agency did not have adequate “resources committed and/or staff trained to implement policies, processes, and procedures.” These shortfalls in staffing were reflected in data regarding the low number of federal and contract employees directly supporting Section 508 programs in many agencies. 

DOJ also found that “agency maturity remains largely unchanged from prior reporting,” raising concerns that, despite over a decade of technological evolution, many federal government agencies have not made efforts to improve and better integrate Section 508 compliance and ensure the federal government’s resources are available for people with disabilities, including taxpayers and federal workers.

Finally, Casey observed that DOJ’s recommendations underscore many of the recommendations he made in his report, which called for enhanced oversight and transparency from DOJ regarding Section 508 compliance as well as better integration of accessibility into everyday oversight efforts at every federal agency.

“There’s a New Sheriff in Town” at SSA

Published in RINewsToday on June 20, 2020

On June President Joe Biden has asked two political holdovers from the President Trump’s administration, Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul and his deputy, David Black, who had previously served as the agency’s top lawyer, to resign. Saul ultimately was fired after refusing to resign Friday, July 9, while Black resigned upon the president’s request that day. 

Biden named as acting commissioner, Kilolo Kijakazi, whom he earlier had appointed to a lower-level Social Security Administration (SSA) position, deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy. 

The White House affirmed its authority to “remove the SSA Commissioner at will” by citing a Supreme Court ruling and a legal opinion from the Justice Department. Previously, under statute, the president could only remove the SSA commissioner for “neglect of duty” or “malfeasance in office.”

Saul’s term as Social Security Administrator ended in 2025 and according to The Washington Post, he states he plans to dispute the White House firing and continue to work remotely at his New York City home.

“I consider myself the term-protected commissioner of Social Security,” Saul told The Washington Post, calling the attempt to unseat him a “Friday Night Massacre.”

Minority Members of Senate Aging Committee Oppose Firing

Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), Marco Rubio (R-Fla..), Mike Braun (R-Ind..), Rick Scott (R-Fla..), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a letter July 14 to President Biden urging him to reinstate and honor the Senate confirmed, six-year term of Saul as SSA Commissioner. 

Members of the Senate Special Committee on Aging find the politically motivated action especially worrisome as it will have drastic effects on SSA services that help millions of older Americans with basic expenses like housing, food and medicine. 

The letter explains “Commissioner Saul was confirmed by the Senate in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in 2019… led the agency through one of the most trying periods in its history during the COVID-19 pandemic… was confirmed by the Senate to serve a full six-year term that expires in 2025 and he should have remained in his position unless removed for cause, as written in federal law.”

The committee requested the Biden administration explain what authority an acting commissioner—not confirmed by the Senate—would possess to carry out the statutorily obligated duties of the SSA commissioner. 

 On the Other Side of the Aisle…

“From the beginning of their tenure at the Social Security Administration Andrew Saul and David Black were anti-beneficiary and anti-employee. The Biden Administration made the right move to fire both Saul and Black after they refused to resign, says chairperson John B. Larson (D-CT), of the House Ways and Means Social Security Committee, who had called for Saul and Black’s removal in March 2021. “As [Supreme Court] Justice Alito recently stated, the president needs someone running the agency who will follow their policy agenda,” he says.

According to Larson, since June 17, 2019, Saul’s control over SSA policies have “disproportionately harmed vulnerable Americans like low-income seniors and persons with disabilities, immigrants and people of color.

During Saul’s tenure, Larson noted that the SSA implemented a new rule that denied disability benefits for older, severely disabled workers who are unable to communicate in English, resulting in approximately 100,000 people being denied more than $5 billion in benefits from 2020 to 2029. However, there has been considerable discussion of the misinterpretation of the intent of this change.

SSA also finalized a new regulation that dramatically reduced due process protections for Social Security appeals hearings, by allowing the SSA to use agency attorneys instead of independent judges for the hearings, says Larson.

Larson also expressed concern about SSA proposing to change the disability review process to cut off benefits for some eligible people and proposing to make it significantly harder for older, severely disabled workers to be found eligible for disability benefits. 

According to Larson, Saul also advanced the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant policies by resuming “no-match letters” to employers with even minor discrepancies between their wage reports and their employees’ Social Security records. These letters effectively serve to harass immigrants and their employers, often leading to U.S. citizens and work-authorized immigrants being fired, he said.

Finally, Larson charged that Saul embraced the Trump Administration’s anti-federal employee policies, including forcing harsh union contracts that strip employees of rights and ending telework for thousands of employees just months before the COVID-19 pandemic started – a particularly ill-fated decision given the critical role telework has played in SSA’s ability to continue serving the public during the pandemic. 

Thumbs Up from Aging Advocacy Groups 

“The Social Security Commissioner should reflect the values and priorities of President Biden, which include improving benefits, extending solvency, improving customer services, reopening field offices, and treating SSA employees and their unions fairly. That was not the case with former Commissioner Saul, and we look forward to President Biden nominating someone who meets that standard,” says Max Richtman, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

Adds Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works: “Today is a great day for every current and future Social Security beneficiary. Andrew Saul and David Black were appointed by former President Donald Trump to undermine Social Security. They’ve done their very best to carry out that despicable mission. That includes waging a war on people with disabilities, demoralizing the agency’s workforce, and delaying President Biden’s stimulus checks.”  

Introducing New SSA Commissioner, Kilolo Kijakazi…

Kilolo Kijakazi has a Ph.D. in public policy from George Washington University, an MSW from Howard University, and a BA from SUNY Binghamton University. Kijakazi’s Urban Institute bio notes that she served as an Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute, where she “worked with staff across the organization to develop collaborative partnerships with those most affected by economic and social issues, to expand and strengthen Urban’s agenda of rigorous research, to effectively communicate findings to diverse audiences and to recruit and retain a diverse research staff at all levels” while conducting research on economic security, structural racism, and the racial wealth gap. 

Kijakazi was previously employed as a program officer at the Ford Foundation, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a program analyst at the Food Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture, and an analyst at the National Urban League.

According to Wikipedia, before entering the Biden administration, Kijakazi was a board member of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, the National Academy of Social Insurance and its Study Panel on Economic Security, the Policy Academies and Liberation in a Generation, as well as a member of the DC Equitable Recovery Advisory Group, adviser to Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap, co-chair of the National Advisory Council on Eliminating the Black-White Wealth Gap at the Center for American Progress, and member of the Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings at the Bipartisan Policy Center. 

“Kilolo has an amazing ability to find and build connections among individuals and institutions that should be working together on critical public policy issues and policy discussions are much better for that inclusionary approach,” says Margaret Simms, an Institute Fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute.