[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 111 (Monday, July 11, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4583-H4586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR COMBATING TERRORIST, UNDERGROUND, AND OTHER
ILLICIT FINANCING ACT
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 5594) to require the establishment of a national
strategy for combating the financing of terrorism and related financial
crimes, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5594
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Strategy for
Combating Terrorist, Underground, and Other Illicit Financing
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The financing of terrorism and related forms of illicit
finance present a direct threat to national security and a
threat to global stability.
(2) New terrorist groups or threats can form quickly, and
other groups change tactics to adapt, creating a constantly
changing terrorist environment, presenting ever-changing
risks and challenges to programs to disrupt the financing of
terrorism and related forms of illicit finance.
(3) As demonstrated in hearings before the Task Force to
Investigate Terrorism Financing, terrorists in some instances
have formed symbiotic relationships with, or are taking over,
transnational crime syndicates, so that funding for both
terrorism and profits from crime flow in the same fashion and
often are indistinguishable.
(4) Methods of concealing the movement of illicit funding
change quickly in a globalized economy, and rapid
technological changes and financial innovation pose new risks
that may be increasingly difficult for governments to stay
abreast of without an agile, constantly adjusted strategy to
spot, disrupt, and prevent the financing of terrorism and
related forms of illicit finance.
(5) A bipartisan requirement to create a national anti-
money laundering strategy enacted in 1998 expired in 2007.
Given the rapid globalization and rapid technology changes of
the financial sector, an updated strategy focused on the
financing of terrorism is necessary.
(6) It is important for the Government to have a unified
strategy to fight financial crime and to update it annually,
both to accommodate new and developing threats and to help
Congress develop legislative and funding priorities.
(7) An effective strategy to counter terrorism financing is
a critical component of the broader counter terrorism
strategy of the United States.
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--The President, acting through the
Secretary of the Treasury (the ``Secretary'') shall, in
consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretaries of
State, Defense, and Homeland Security, the Director of
National Intelligence and the appropriate Federal banking
agencies, develop a national strategy for combating the
financing of terrorism and related forms of illicit finance.
(b) Transmittal to Congress.--By June 1 each year following
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a national
strategy developed in accordance with subsection (a)
(c) Evaluation of Existing Efforts and Broader Strategy.--
The President shall accompany each strategy submitted under
subsection (b) with a report that--
(1) describes the effectiveness of efforts to enforce
existing prohibitions against illicit finance;
(2) describes how the United States is addressing the
highest levels of risk identified in the National Money
Laundering Risk Assessment and the National Terrorist
Financing Risk Assessment published by the Department of the
Treasury;
(3) evaluates the effectiveness of United States efforts to
fight illicit finance at actually preventing, discovering,
and countering terrorist financing and other forms of illicit
finance (and the effectiveness of those efforts that the
United States coordinates with foreign nations); and
(4) describes how the strategy submitted under subsection
(b) is integrated into, and supports, the broader counter
terrorism strategy of the United States.
(d) Separate Presentation of Classified Material.--Any part
of the national strategy that involves information which is
properly classified under criteria established by the
President shall be submitted to the Congress separately in a
classified annex and, if requested by the chairman or ranking
Member of one of the appropriate congressional committees, as
a briefing at an appropriate level of security.
SEC. 4. CONTENTS.
(a) In General.--The strategy described under section 3
shall contain, at a minimum, the following:
(1) Threats, goals, objectives, and priorities.--A
comprehensive, research-based, long-range, quantifiable
discussion of threats, goals, objectives, and priorities for
disrupting, preventing and reducing the number, dollar value,
and effects of illicit finance in the United States and
foreign countries that impact the security of the United
States.
[[Page H4584]]
(2) Coordination.--A discussion of methods to best
coordinate such efforts with international, State, and local
officials, law enforcement, regulators, and financial
institutions.
(3) Reviews and proposed changes.--Reviews of enforcement
efforts, relevant regulations and relevant provisions of law
and, when appropriate, discussions of proposed changes
determined to be appropriate to ensure that the United States
pursues coordinated and effective efforts at all levels of
government in the fight against illicit finance and with
international partners.
(4) Detection and prosecution initiatives.--A description
of efforts to improve detection and prosecution of illicit
finance, including efforts to ensure that--
(A) subject to legal restrictions, all appropriate data
collected by the Government that is relevant to the efforts
described in this Act be available in a timely fashion to all
appropriate Federal departments and agencies and, as
appropriate and consistent with section 314 of the USA
PATRIOT Act, to financial institutions to assist them in
efforts to comply with laws aimed at curbing illicit finance;
and
(B) appropriate efforts are undertaken to ensure that
Federal departments and agencies charged with reducing and
preventing illicit finance make thorough use of publicly
available data in furtherance of this effort.
(5) The role of the private financial sector in prevention
of illicit finance.--A discussion of ways to enhance
partnerships between the private financial sector and Federal
departments and agencies with regard to the prevention and
detection of illicit money laundering finance, including--
(A) efforts to facilitate compliance with laws aimed at
stopping such illicit finance while maintaining the
effectiveness of such efforts; and
(B) providing incentives to strengthen internal controls
and to adopt on an industry-wide basis more effective
policies.
(6) Enhancement of intergovernmental cooperation.--A
discussion of ways to combat illicit finance by enhancing--
(A) cooperative efforts between Federal, State, and local
officials, including State and local prosecutors and other
law enforcement officials;
(B) to the extent possible, cooperative efforts among
States and between State and local officials, including State
and local regulators, prosecutors, and law enforcement
officials; and
(C) cooperative efforts with and between governments of
countries and with and between multinational institutions
with expertise in fighting illicit finance.
(7) Project and budget priorities.--A 3-year projection for
program and budget priorities and achievable projects for
reductions in illicit finance.
(8) Assessment of funding.--A complete assessment of how
the proposed budget described under paragraph (7) is intended
to implement the strategy described in this Act and whether
the funding levels contained in the proposed budget are
sufficient to implement the strategy, including a discussion
of the extent to which funding for such efforts is or should
be funded from fines, settlements, seizures or forfeitures
related to illicit finance.
(9) Trend analysis.--Data regarding trends in illicit
finance, with a special focus on the funding of terrorism.
(10) Enforcement report.--A report containing an evaluation
of the enforcement of policies to combat illicit finance.
(11) Enforcement.--A discussion of the current policies of
the United States to enforce the provisions of the Bank
Secrecy Act and related laws regarding the financing of
terrorism and other forms of illicit finance, together with
recommendations for improving enforcement.
(12) Treasury attaches.--A discussion of the Department of
the Treasury attaches, including--
(A) a list of embassies where Department of the Treasury
attaches are posted and a discussion of their effectiveness
in the fight against illicit finance;
(B) a list of the United States embassies at which a
Department of the Treasury attache is assigned for temporary
duty, the length of such assignments, and the reason why such
assignments are not considered to be permanent assignments;
(C) how the Department of the Treasury's interests relating
to economic and anti-terror finance issues are handled at
other embassies, including a discussion of the reporting
structure by which such issues are brought to the direct
attention of the ambassador; and
(D) the effect of not having more attaches in embassies
that are most vulnerable to illicit finance threats and a
discussion of whether the Department of the Treasury's
economic or anti-illicit finance issues are thought to be
under-represented in some embassies or regions.
(13) Illicit finance and cyber crime.--A discussion of
terrorist financing and other forms of illicit finance that
involve cyber attacks, evolving forms of value transfer,
including so-called ``crypto currencies'', and other methods
that are computer, telecommunications, or internet-based.
(14) Technology.--An analysis of current and developing
ways to leverage technology to improve the effectiveness of
the fight against the financing of terror and other forms of
illicit finance, including the use of ``big data'' analytics,
the merging of publicly sourced data with Bank Secrecy Act
data and with other forms of secure Government data to
increase such effectiveness, and ways to enhance the role of
the private sector in combating illicit finance.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee
on Financial Services, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Homeland Security,
and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs, Committee on Foreign Relations,
Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs, and the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate.
(2) Appropriate federal banking agencies.--The term
``appropriate Federal banking agencies'' has the meaning
given that term under section 3 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813).
(3) Bank secrecy act.--The term ``Bank Secrecy Act''
means--
(A) section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act;
(B) chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91-508; and
(C) subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States
Code.
(4) Illicit finance.--The term ``illicit finance'' means
the financing of terrorism, money laundering, and other forms
of illicit or underground financing or other illicit finance
domestically and internationally, as defined by the
President.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and each territory or
possession of the United States.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Collins of New York). Pursuant to the
rule, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) and the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
General Leave
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
{time} 1430
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, during my 2-year appointment on the House Financial
Services Committee's Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, I
joined with Ranking Member Stephen Lynch, Vice Chair Robert Pittenger,
and a dedicated, bipartisan body to investigate and evaluate the
efforts made by the United States to counter and dismantle the
financial networks funding terrorist organizations. During this time,
our task force heard repeated testimony that information sharing is not
as efficient as it ought to be and that, in some instances, agencies or
departments are not coordinating their efforts well enough.
During a hearing held by our task force, Juan Zarate, senior adviser
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, stated that, and
this is a quote: ``The U.S. Government's approach to its economic
vulnerabilities is scattered--with strategies to protect supply chain
security, combat transnational organized crime, secure the cyber
domain, protect critical infrastructure, and promote U.S. private
sector interests abroad to compete with state-owned enterprises . . .
the U.S. should craft a deliberate strategy that aligns economic
strength with national security interests more explicitly and more
completely.''
This, Mr. Speaker, is exactly what this bill aims to address. H.R.
5594 requires the President, acting through the Treasury, to develop
and publish an annual whole-of-government strategy to combat money
laundering and terrorist financing.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am very pleased to rise, along with my colleagues Chairman Michael
Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania; our vice chair, the gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Pittenger); the gentlewoman from New York (Ms.
Velazquez); and also the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema), in
support of H.R. 5594, a bill that will build on the administration's
commendable efforts to counter the financing of terrorism.
[[Page H4585]]
I would note that the proposal before us today, of which I am a
cosponsor, also builds off of previous bipartisan legislation, led by
the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), and former Financial
Services Committee Chairman, Spencer Bachus. Together, their
legislation, enacted in 1998, called for the creation of a national
anti-money laundering strategy and laid the groundwork for the
legislation that we present here today.
Thanks to the continued leadership of Representative Velazquez and
the work of members of the Financial Services Committee's Task Force to
Investigate Terrorism Financing, which was created by the full
committee chairman, Mr. Hensarling of Texas, and joined by the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine Waters), our government will be
required to continue its efforts to stay ahead of the evolving methods
that terrorists and other bad actors use to conceal the movement of
illicit funds.
Specifically, the national strategy that will be developed as part of
this legislation will require a comprehensive assessment of the
threats, goals, objectives, and priorities for preventing and
disrupting illicit finance, and it will promote efforts to detect and
prosecute the financing of terrorism.
Moreover, this legislation includes a requirement to assess the ways
in which we can strengthen the role of the private sector, enhance
public-private partnerships to disrupt illicit finance, and most
effectively enhance intergovernmental coordination.
Our legislation also calls on the administration to assess the
adequacy of funding dedicated to meeting anti-money laundering/
counterterrorist financing challenges, and assess how best to leverage
technology and other data to fight against the financing of terror.
As the Islamic State and other terrorist groups continue to
demonstrate their capacity and willingness to export heinous acts of
violence to every corner of the globe and inspire attacks here in the
United States, the need to have an effective strategy to counter the
financing of these activities is now more important than ever.
In closing, I would like to thank House Financial Services Committee
Chair Jeb Hensarling and Ranking Member Maxine Waters for the creation
of the Financial Services Committee's Task Force to Investigate
Terrorism Financing.
I would also like to again thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania,
Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick; the gentleman from North Carolina, Vice
Chair Robert Pittenger; and the rest of my colleagues on the Financial
Services Committee for the enthusiasm and energy with which they have
carried out the mandate of the task force. Our work has been a truly
bipartisan effort, and I look forward to the opportunity to build on
these efforts in the future.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Hill), an important and valued member of the task force.
Mr. HILL. I thank the chairman for yielding. I thank Mr. Lynch for
his important legislation, H.R. 5594, which I stand in support of and
as a cosponsor of today.
I want to thank Chairman Fitzpatrick and Chairman Hensarling for the
opportunity to serve on this critical task force on terror financing.
It is an important but less-discussed part of the war on terror.
This war on terror requires a more nuanced approach to achieve
victory than previous U.S. conflicts. It requires the full coordination
and collaboration of allied financial, cyber, diplomatic, and military
capabilities. And one of the most underreported aspects of winning this
war has been infiltrating and cutting off sources of funding for
terrorist groups.
Like its occasional intermittent engagement, accompanied by long
periods of lack of resolve, lack of clear rules of engagement that
would produce victory, occasionally, this administration has not been
consistent in pressing for victory in the war on terror finance. But
since San Bernardino and Paris, we see the administration aggressively
targeting ISIS' funding sources.
Instead of intermittent, we need a coordinated strategy to combat
terror finance between all of our government agencies and with our
allies to make sure it is the most effective in countering this menace.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, is our Nation's
front line at the Treasury for government-to-government and enhanced
government-to-private sector coordination that this national strategy
puts in full force.
I was pleased to cosponsor Mr. Lynch's amendment that was passed in
last week's Financial Services appropriations legislation that includes
an increase for FinCEN's budget.
I am proud to join my colleague, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and our committee
on this important bill to require a national strategy to combat
terrorism, underground, and other forms of illicit finance. I urge my
colleagues to support this important bill.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas, and I
yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema), one of
our lead cosponsors on this legislation.
Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Fitzpatrick and Ranking
Member Lynch.
Over the course of the past year, the Task Force to Investigate
Terrorism Financing has found that U.S. Government efforts to counter
the financing of terrorism lack sufficient coordination and that the
United States has no unified national strategy to guide our
counterfinancing efforts.
The Federal Government must change its approach and mindset to
counter the financing of terrorism, and this is why Chairman
Fitzpatrick and I introduced this bipartisan legislation to direct the
Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with relevant Federal
agencies, to establish a whole-of-government strategy to combat the
financing of terrorism and related forms of illicit finance.
This strategy must include: a critical assessment of the
effectiveness of U.S. efforts to fight terrorist financing; ways to
improve coordination with international, State, and local law
enforcement and the private sector; and a comprehensive discussion of
threats, goals, objectives, and priorities for disrupting and
preventing terrorist financing. The strategy should enhance detection,
deterrence, prosecution, and ultimately strengthen our broader national
security goals.
Our legislation forces the Federal Government to create a whole-of-
government strategy to counter terrorism financing that improves the
effectiveness of our efforts and better aligns these efforts with our
broader national interests.
Terrorism is an undeniable threat to our country's security and
global stability. Terrorist networks constantly develop new ways to
finance their deadly operations and threaten America.
The Islamic State is one of the world's most violent, dangerous, and
well-financed terrorist groups. To keep our country safe, we must be
one step ahead of ISIS, cutting off its funding and stopping its
efforts.
I thank Chairman Fitzpatrick and Congresswoman Velazquez for allowing
me to join and work with them on this important legislation.
I thank Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters for
establishing this important task force, and I thank Chairman
Fitzpatrick and Ranking Member Lynch for their leadership on the Task
Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing.
I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle to keep money out of terrorists' hands and build on our progress
to strengthen America's security.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman
from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), a trusted member of the Task Force to
Investigate Terrorism Financing.
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative
Fitzpatrick, the chair of our terrorism task force here, along with
Representative Lynch, Representative Sinema, and others, for moving
forward on this issue and legislation.
I stand today in support, and I am proud to have been a cosponsor of
this important legislation that would require the President to develop
an all-encompassing government strategy to
[[Page H4586]]
combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
The National Strategy for Combating Terrorist, Underground, and Other
Illicit Financing Act addresses this important problem by developing a
comprehensive strategy that includes many different components and
capabilities of our Federal Government and allies.
From my time working on the terrorism finance task force, we have
heard testimony from members of various government agencies and from
the private sector who play a role in fighting this issue abroad. As a
former United States Ambassador who has worked to stop international
terrorist financing, it is clear that coordination and communication
between these agencies can be improved to block terrorist financing.
ISIS, along with other terrorist groups, continues to find creative
and new ways to obtain financing, oftentimes using our regulated
financial system as a means to launder that money. This legislation,
H.R. 5594, ensures our government is taking all actions necessary to
stop this growing terrorist threat, and I urge its passage.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
In closing, I just want to again thank Chairman Hensarling and
Ranking Member Waters for entrusting to myself and my colleague, Mr.
Lynch, the important work of investigating terrorism finance, how these
terrorist organizations are achieving their resources, what we can do
to sort of choke off their financing, which, to terrorism, is sort of
like oxygen. Without oxygen, you can't live. Without financing,
terrorists can't achieve their goals.
So I want to thank Mr. Lynch because, during the course of the 2
years we worked together, he worked very closely with me to make sure,
in each of the hearings that we had and all the work in putting the
bills together, that no politics seeped into this important work, and
so we continue to work together.
I also want to thank the staff of the Financial Services Committee,
Mr. Joe Pinder, Mr. Chris Matarangas of my staff, and Jackie Cahan of
Representative Lynch's staff, who helped us craft the legislation that
is on the floor today. I ask all of my colleagues to support this bill
to adopt H.R. 5594.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5594.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________