Chairman Risch Opening Statement at Hearing on Protecting Americans From Global Scam Operations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing titled "Protecting Americans from Global Scam Operations: Assessing the U.S. Response." Witnesses included the Honorable Michael DeSombre, Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Mr. David Bedard, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

"Thank you to our witnesses for testifying today on what is a really, really important issue. Right now, across the ocean, there are entire cities, cities, devoted to scamming Americans.

"In Cambodia, in Laos, and in Burma, scam center operations have become a multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise that enables a range of illegal activity like human trafficking, money laundering, illicit drug trade, and even arms trafficking around the globe, presenting a growing threat to Americans' wallets and to our national security.

"We have all received one of these strange phone calls or texts. In fact, as common as it is, I wouldn't be surprised if someone in this room receives one of those during this hearing.

"Just last year, Idahoans reported losing $34 million to online investment scams. That's just Idaho. Nationally, Americans are losing billions each year to these scammers, and these losses continue to grow, to the benefit of our adversaries.

"Many of these scam centers have close ties to Chinese transnational criminal organizations, who take orders from the Chinese Communist Party and work to promote the CCP's foreign policy priorities.

"These criminals have created an industry that traps hundreds of thousands of victims of human trafficking in scam compounds. They trick their victims with false job advertisements, take their passports, and in some cases torture people to force them to steal your money.

"Fortunately, the Administration is working to end this horrible practice with its Scam Center Strike Force. It has blocked more than $800 million of cryptocurrency transactions from going to these Chinese criminal groups, but that number is just a drop in the bucket compared to the scale of the problem.

"As these scam centers evolve to use AI and other technologies to stay ahead of law enforcement, it is more important than ever that we mount an effective response. This will require the entire U.S. government working with our international partners to address the pipeline of human trafficking and build complex legal cases against these criminal groups, who are often aided and abetted by foreign governments.

"This issue is not a partisan issue. This is clearly a bipartisan issue. It affects every American. And these scammers don't care whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, they just want your money.

"I hope today that our witnesses will share more about the State Department's role in this effort.

"How are we working with partners like the UK, Australia and Japan-whose citizens have also lost money to these scam operations-to stop these crimes? We'd like an answer to that question.

"What can we do to help foreign law enforcement agencies to build strong cases against the beneficiaries of these scam centers and ensure they are shuttered for good? That is another question we would like answered.

"And finally, what are we doing to hold the governments of countries that host and enable these scam operations accountable?

"I look forward to learning the answer to these questions from our witnesses, as well as hearing their recommendations for what additional authorities or increased international cooperation efforts may be needed to protect the American people from this growing threat.

"Thank you to the witnesses for being here. With that, I would like to turn it over to the distinguished ranking member, Senator Shaheen."

These remarks have been lightly edited for clarity. Witness testimony is available on foreign.senate.gov.

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