[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9052-H9056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EMPOWERING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACT OF
2018
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6729) to allow nonprofit organizations to register with the
Secretary of the Treasury and share information on activities that may
involve human trafficking or money laundering with financial
institutions and regulatory authorities, under a safe harbor that
offers protections from liability, in order to better identify and
report potential human trafficking or money laundering activities.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6729
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 ``Empowering Financial
Institutions to Fight Human Trafficking Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING INFORMATION PROVIDERS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 5333. Anti-money laundering information providers
``(a) Cooperation Among Financial Institutions and Sources
of Information on Human Trafficking and Money Laundering.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than the end of the 120-day
period beginning on the date of enactment of this section,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue regulations to
allow nonprofit organizations that the Secretary determines
to be qualified to share information with financial
institutions, associations of financial institutions, their
regulatory authorities, and law enforcement agencies
regarding individuals, entities, organizations, and countries
suspected of possible human trafficking or related money
laundering activities.
``(2) Cooperation and information sharing procedures.--The
regulations required under paragraph (1) may include or
create procedures for cooperation and information sharing
focused on--
``(A) matters specifically related to those benefitting
directly and indirectly from human trafficking, the means by
which human traffickers transfer funds within the United
States and around the world, and the extent to which
financial institutions, including depository institutions,
asset managers, and insurers in the United States, are
unwittingly involved in such matters or transfers and the
extent to which such entities are at risk as a result; and
``(B) means of facilitating the identification of accounts
and transactions involving human traffickers and facilitating
the exchange of information concerning such accounts and
transactions between nonprofit organizations, financial
institutions, regulatory authorities, and law enforcement
agencies.
``(3) Method of regulation.--The regulations required under
paragraph (1) may--
``(A) be made coextensive with the regulations adopted
pursuant to other programs, regulated by the Secretary, for
sharing information on unlawful activities between financial
institutions;
``(B) establish a registration process overseen by the
Secretary that--
[[Page H9053]]
``(i) requires a nonprofit organization to demonstrate that
they meet certain qualifications that the Secretary
determines appropriate, including the establishment of
policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure the
prompt identification and correction of inaccurate
information shared under paragraph (1);
``(ii) allows the Secretary to disqualify nonprofit
organizations that do not meet such qualifications; and
``(iii) allows the Secretary to terminate the registration
of a nonprofit organization at any point if the Secretary
determines such termination is appropriate and provides
sufficient notice of such termination to the applicable
nonprofit organization;
``(C) require a nonprofit organization to register with the
Secretary before sharing information that will be subject to
the safe harbor provided under subsection (b); and
``(D) ensure that financial institutions, associations of
financial institutions, their regulatory authorities, law
enforcement authorities, and any other appropriate entities
are made aware of those nonprofit organizations that are
registered with the Secretary.
``(4) Recipients of information.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall determine those
financial institutions which are eligible to be recipients of
information from nonprofit organizations made in compliance
with the regulations issued under subsection (a). Such
eligible financial institutions may include those already
participating in existing information sharing programs
regulated by the Secretary regarding unlawful activity.
``(B) No safe harbor for information provided to other
financial institutions.--If a nonprofit organization shares
information with a financial institution that is not eligible
under subparagraph (A), such sharing of information shall not
be subject to the safe harbor provided under subsection (b).
``(5) Information sharing between financial institutions.--
The regulations adopted pursuant to this section--
``(A) may be coextensive with other regulations governing
the sharing of information between financial institutions on
suspected unlawful activities; and
``(B) shall allow financial institutions that receive
information in compliance with the regulations issued under
subsection (a) to share such information with other financial
institutions through existing information sharing programs.
``(b) Safe Harbor for Information Providers.--
``(1) In general.--A nonprofit organization, financial
institution, association of financial institutions,
regulatory authority of a financial institution, or law
enforcement agency in compliance with the regulations issued
under subsection (a) that transmits or shares information
described under subsection (a) for the purposes of
identifying or reporting activities that may involve human
trafficking acts or related money laundering activities shall
not be liable to any person under any law or regulation of
the United States, any constitution, law, or regulation of
any State or political subdivision thereof, or under any
contract or other legally enforceable agreement (including
any arbitration agreement), for such disclosure or for any
failure to provide notice of such disclosure to the person
who is the subject of such disclosure, or any other person
identified in the disclosure, except where such transmission
or sharing violates this section or regulations issued
pursuant to this section.
``(2) No good faith requirement.--A nonprofit organization,
financial institution, association of financial institutions,
regulatory authority of a financial institution, or law
enforcement agency that transmits or shares information
described under paragraph (1) shall not be required to
demonstrate that such transmission or sharing was made on a
good faith basis in order to receive the benefit of the safe
harbor provided by paragraph (1).
``(c) Non-Mandatory Compliance With This Section.--This
section may not be construed as requiring a nonprofit
organization to comply with the regulations issued under
subsection (a) before sharing information with a financial
institution, association of financial institutions,
regulatory authority of a financial institution, or law
enforcement agency.
``(d) Reports to the Financial Services Industry on
Suspicious Financial Activities.--Beginning 10 months after
the date of the enactment of this section, and at least
semiannually thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury
shall--
``(1) publish a report containing a detailed analysis
identifying patterns of suspicious activity and other
investigative insights derived from the regulations issued
under this section and investigations conducted by Federal,
State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to the
extent appropriate;
``(2) distribute such report to financial institutions; and
``(3) provide such report upon publication to the Committee
on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate.
``(e) Nonprofit Organization Defined.--For purposes of this
section, the term `nonprofit organization' means an
organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of such Code.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for chapter
53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 5332 the following:
``5333. Anti-money laundering information providers.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tipton) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.
General Leave
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous materials on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner).
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Tipton. I rise today
to speak on behalf of the bipartisan Empowering Financial Institutions
to Fight Human Trafficking Act.
The International Labor Organization estimates that, globally, over
40 million people were victims of human trafficking in 2016. It is
obvious that in order to deter the criminals who enslave and sell human
beings, we need to hit them where it hurts: their bank accounts.
Right now, financial institutions are attempting to identify human
trafficking activity, but many suspicious activity reports are based on
false flags. Financial institutions are largely left alone to determine
what information is valid. Without good, specific, verifiable, targeted
information, financial institutions may wrongly identify people,
overrespond, and overtarget, or fail to recognize criminal activity.
Finding the traffickers who take advantage of our financial system
can be a daunting task. We need to figure out how to do it better. This
legislation is an opportunity to help financial institutions wade
through the muck and locate bad actors.
This summer, the Financial Action Task Force released a report that
identified significant challenges in detecting, investigating, and
prosecuting laundering related to human trafficking, including,
``incomplete domestic information sharing among stakeholders.''
That is why I was proud to introduce the Empowering Financial
Institutions to Fight Human Trafficking Act with my colleague and
fellow advocate, Congresswoman Maloney, along with Congresswoman Love,
Congresswoman Tenney, and Congresswoman Sinema.
Over the past year, I have worked in the Financial Services Committee
to explore how human traffickers exploit U.S. financial markets. In
January, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which I
chaired, held a hearing to examine how financial institutions monitor
accounts and identify trafficking. We know that if traffickers can't
finance their operations, they can't profit from their crimes.
This bill creates a pathway for registered nonprofits to safely
provide valuable information on trafficking crimes to financial
institutions, without the threat of defamation suits that could end
their organizations.
Throughout the process of crafting this bill, I have found that banks
are increasingly seeking actionable information from the nonprofits
that specialize in gathering it. It is incredibly challenging for
financial institutions to pinpoint trafficking crimes that are
happening far away in mines, in fields, in factories, hotels, or boats,
obscured from analysts who are trying to practice good customer due
diligence.
Let me be clear, Mr. Speaker. This legislation instructs the
Secretary of the Treasury to develop a process that will make civil
society experts more available to financial institutions and establish
transparent standards for information sharing.
The bill guides the Secretary to register only NGOs that have the
rigor and expertise to substantiate their claims and correct any
inaccurate information.
I am excited that we are finding ways to connect those who have good
intelligence with those who are seeking it without exposing nonprofits
to devastating lawsuits they can ill afford.
[[Page H9054]]
This system will target verified traffickers and reduce reliance on
nonspecific information that can target innocent people.
I look forward to casting my vote to prevent human traffickers from
using the U.S. financial system to exploit victims around the world.
Together, this Congress can disrupt the networks that make modern-day
slavery profitable and free vulnerable people around the world who have
been enslaved.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6729 is a well-intentioned bill aimed at countering
human trafficking. My first concern with the bill, however, is the lack
of a deliberative process surrounding the measure, which could lead to
a number of serious unintended consequences as currently drafted.
The bill will give a sweeping safe harbor to nonprofits that share
information with financial institutions regarding the involuntary
trafficking of children, women, and men that will nullify all State and
local defamation, libel, and privacy laws.
This means eligible nonprofits could share personally identifiable
information about any person the nonprofit merely suspects of human
trafficking with any financial institution, even if their information
is false or misleading. Such sharing of information could, in turn,
lead financial institutions to close an individual's account and deny
them access to the financial system, even if the individual has not
been arrested or indicted for a crime.
Importantly, this bill also explicitly states that the Treasury
Department may not impose a requirement that the nonprofits share the
information in good faith. Therefore, this bill doesn't protect against
malicious or negligent reporting. In fact, the Due Process Institute
has stated: `` . . . Surely not every suspicion or accusation that
would come through a nonprofit will be accurate or truthful. Some
suspicions or accusations might even be motivated by personal,
political, ethnic, racial, cultural, or religious animus.''
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record two letters of
opposition to the bill from two coalitions of civil liberty and privacy
advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Due
Process Institute, Freedom Works, the National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers, the Project On Government Oversight, Defending Rights
and Dissent, and New America's Open Technology Institute, among others.
September 25, 2018.
Dear Representatives: We urge you to vote against H.R. 6729
when the measure is considered later this week. The
legislation would allow the Treasury Department to expand the
surveillance and sharing of Americans' financial records
beyond what is provided for by the USA PATRIOT Act. The
government has previously sought and Congress has rightly
voted to reject such an expansion. Similar legislation in the
114th Congress, H.R. 5606, drew opposition from 177 members
and failed on a suspension vote.
The legislation has broad applicability and significantly
harmful effects that go far beyond its stated purpose of
allowing financial institutions to combat human trafficking.
H.R. 6729 contains an overly broad provision that prohibits
Treasury from requiring nonprofit organizations to show that
they are sharing information in good faith and preempts
liability for organizations under privacy laws. While the
measure is described as allowing nonprofits to report
suspicions of human trafficking or money laundering to
financial institutions, it risks our privacy and raises
concerns about the misuse of information.
In addition, H.R. 6729 allows a wide range of institutions
to communicate with each other about ``suspicious''
activities regardless of the basis for the suspicion and
despite other applicable laws and consumer agreements. The
concerns need not be rooted in reality. Moreover, the safe
harbor provision does not merely encompass traditional
financial institutions like banks and financial services
providers, but extends more broadly. This legislation also
fails to establish any legal recourse for negligent or
malicious acts.
H.R. 6729 would create the risk of financial institutions
closing accounts of people they deem too risky to do business
with on the basis of meritless or otherwise unsupported
claims from nonprofit organizations. Every financial
institution already has a legal obligation to file a
``Suspicious Activity Report'' with the government whenever
it ``knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that an
individual, entity, or organization is involved in or may be
involved in terrorist activity or money laundering.'' It is
an unfortunate fact that suspicions and accusations can be
based on or motivated by personal, political, ethnic, racial,
cultural, or religious animus. It is unacceptable to expand
the scope of entities that can submit this information in a
process that is broadly immunized from legal recourse.
This legislation goes far beyond the goal of combating
human trafficking and significantly expands governmental
surveillance, the impact of which falls most heavily and
relentlessly on those who are the least able to defend
themselves. Now is not the time to rush this legislation,
introduced a mere two weeks ago, through a legislative
procedure intended for uncontroversial bills.
Sincerely yours,
American Civil Liberties Union, American-Arab Anti-
Discrimination Committee, Color Of Change, Defending Rights &
Dissent, Demand Progress Action, Free Press Action, Freedom
of the Press Foundation, Government Information Watch, New
America's Open Technology Institute, Project On Government
Oversight, X-Lab.
____
Due Process Institute,
September 25, 2018.
Re Bipartisan Concerns Regarding H.R. 6729 on Suspension
Calendar
Hon. Paul Ryan,
Speaker of the House,
U.S. House of Representatives.
Hon. Kevin McCarthy,
Majority Leader,
U.S. House of Representatives.
Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
Minority Leader,
U.S. House of Representatives.
Hon. Steny Hoyer,
Minority Whip,
U.S. House of Representatives.
Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, and Whip
Hoyer: The Due Process Institute, FreedomWorks, the National
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and
Defending Rights and Dissent write to raise concerns with
several aspects of H.R. 6729 (``Empowering Financial
Institutions to Fight Human Trafficking Act of 2018''). There
is an effort to put this bill, which was introduced just two
weeks ago, on the suspension calendar this week even though
it contains controversial expansions of regulatory power that
could have serious unintended consequences for innocent
people. We urge leadership to ensure this bill not be placed
on the suspension calendar and instead allow deliberate
consideration of the serious changes it seeks to make. We
urge Members to vote NO on this bill.
On its face, H.R. 6729 would protect nonprofits wishing to
report suspicions of human trafficking or money laundering
activities to law enforcement. Importantly, there are no
known legal impediments to nonprofits who wish to engage in
such reporting. Anyone can report credible suspicions of
criminal activity to law enforcement. However, it is possible
that a reporter could potentially face civil liability if the
report was false and led to reputational damage, or if the
report violated a privacy law. This bill offers a very broad
``safe harbor'' from such liability. In conflict with the
principle of federalism, it would nullify any and all
federal, state, or local laws that might otherwise allow
someone to seek damages in the instance of damaging or
malicious reporting or for otherwise invading their privacy.
This powerful and all-encompassing ``safe harbor'' does not
require good faith on behalf of the reporting organization
yet it would invalidate all defamation, libel, or privacy
laws in existence. The undersigned organizations recognize
the importance of preventing and appropriately investigating
human trafficking related crimes but have grave concerns
about aspects of this bill that go far beyond the purpose of
preventing human trafficking.
Importantly, H.R. 6729 does much more than provide a safe
harbor from civil liability for nonprofits wishing to share
information with law enforcement and it is those aspects of
the bill that might not be readily apparent but cause
concern. The bill also sets up a structure to encourage
nonprofits to share their suspicions with ``financial
institutions,'' and also creates a related structure by which
financial institutions will be encouraged to then share these
suspicions with each other. Importantly, the term ``financial
institution'' is not confined to entities like traditional
banks and financial services providers, but also applies to
insurance companies, real estate firms, casinos, jewelers,
and even car dealers. (Again, there is nothing that prevents
such reporting but the ``safe harbor'' protection discussed
above would also apply to any financial institution, thus
preventing customers of a wide array of businesses who would
otherwise have legal recourse under privacy laws or tort law
to seek relief for the negligent or even malicious acts of
others.) Importantly, the ``information sharing'' at stake in
this bill is not based on provable criminal acts, or even
criminal accusations brought by law enforcement. The types of
information subject to this extraordinary ``safe harbor''
protection are mere suspicions that could be based on
purposefully malicious information or stem from improper
motivations.
Unfortunately, the harm that is likely to result to
innocent Americans is very real and not just because of the
safe harbor provision. Current banking regulations already
require financial institutions to file ``Suspicious Activity
Reports'' (SARs) with the government any time it ``knows,
suspects, or has reason to suspect that an individual,
entity, or organization is involved in, or may be involved in
terrorist activity or money laundering,'' because of shared
information
[[Page H9055]]
it has received. Because a financial institution can face
criminal prosecution for failing to investigate or file SARs
after receiving such information, these institutions
invariably err on the side of over-filing. This bill would
add a broad swath of new suspected activity to the SARs
regime, causing the overall amount of SARs to increase--
despite the fact that over one million SARs are already filed
each year--the vast majority of which never lead to a formal
investigation of any kind.
But even more importantly, one of the stated purposes for
information-sharing between financial institutions is to
allow these businesses to determine ``whether to establish or
maintain an account, or to engage in a transaction.'' Thus,
the filing of a SAR frequently leads to a person being ``de-
banked'' or deemed ``too risky to do business with.'' This
bill would dramatically increase the number of SARs filed on
the basis of unproven suspicions passed to financial
institutions, not from law enforcement agencies but from
nonprofits. Stories already abound regarding instances of
innocent consumers having their accounts closed or
transactions prohibited as a result of unproven suspicions.
See Emily Flitter & Stacy Cowley, ``Wells Fargo Accused of
Harming Fraud Victims by Closing Accounts,'' New York Times,
Feb. 28, 2018; Rick Jones, ``Closing the Door on Closing
Accounts: Ending the Damaging Impact of De-Banking,'' The
Champion, March 2018; and Alex Morrell, ``Banks are keeping
closer tabs on your reputation than ever before--and it may
explain why one . . . cardholder mysteriously had his account
shut down. . . .'', Business Insider, Sept. 14, 2018. While
the threat of human trafficking is real and law enforcement
should continue to engage in best efforts to prevent such
crimes, surely not every suspicion or accusation that would
come through a nonprofit will be accurate or truthful. Some
suspicions or accusations might even be motivated by
personal, political, ethnic, racial, cultural, or religious
animus. But by encouraging nonprofits to share their
``suspicions'' with financial institutions, and to encourage
financial institutions to in turn share these suspicions with
each other, law-abiding customers could be improperly de-
banked, preventing them from engaging in critical financial
activities like home buying, investing, or even having a bank
account on the basis of unproven hearsay.
Another concerning aspect of H.R. 6729 is that it contains
multiple authorizations for the Treasury Department to
promulgate an unlimited number of additional regulations
regarding the ``sharing of information between financial
institutions on suspected unlawful activities.'' These
incredibly broad strokes of authority--not limited to the
context of the subject matter of the bill [human trafficking]
but applying to any ``suspected unlawful activity''--are
deeply concerning given that the regulatory state is already
out of control and given previous recent attempts by the
Treasury Department to increase the use of warrantless
surveillance through ``information-sharing'' programs and
other extraordinary powers it was previously granted only for
the purposes of preventing terrorist activities. The blanket
authorization in this bill would allow unelected regulators
to enact changes in the law to expand surveillance and the
access and sharing of Americans' financial records under
Section 314 of the USA PATRIOT Act that they have been unable
to get authorized in bills such as H.R. 5606 (``Anti-
Terrorism Information Sharing is Strength Act''), H.R. 3439
(the ``Financial Institution Security Act'') and the November
2017 draft ``Counter Terrorism and Illicit Finance Act''--
efforts that were widely opposed by a diverse group of
concerned organizations. For all the reasons listed herein,
we urge leadership to ensure this bill not be placed on the
suspension calendar and instead be subjected to a full and
fair law-making process that will allow for deliberate
consideration of the serious changes it seeks to make and we
urge Members to vote NO on this bill.
Respectfully,
Due Process Institute.
FreedomWorks.
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).
Defending Rights and Dissent.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I remain committed to fighting against
human trafficking, but this bill may result in serious unintended
consequences for innocent people, including losing access to their
money and to the financial system based on the mere accusation from a
nonprofit. For this reason, I oppose this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume
to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney).
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good
friend and colleague from New York, who is the ranking member on Small
Business, as an outstanding leader on Puerto Rico, on business, on
women, and in so many areas. I rise today and join my colleague on the
other side of the aisle, Ann Wagner, in strong support of H.R. 6729,
the Empowering Financial Institutions to Fight Human Trafficking Act.
This bill cracks down on human traffickers and human trafficking in
general, which is one of the worst crimes imaginable. This bill will
save lives by cracking down on human trafficking.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the
world. It already generates over $150 billion in profits every year.
There are only two crimes that generate more revenue, and those are
selling drugs and selling guns. But in human trafficking, you can sell
the body over and over again, usually until they die.
The $150 billion is an astonishing amount of money, and that is why
it is so important to make sure that financial institutions have access
to high-quality, up-to-date information on human traffickers and the
companies and individuals involved in this terrible trade.
This bill would ensure that financial institutions get the
information they need about trafficking so that they can take
appropriate action to protect both themselves and the sufferers of
human trafficking.
The bill would give qualified nonprofits a legal safe harbor when
they share information about human trafficking with financial
institutions.
{time} 1645
And it is not-for-profits that have been the most successful in
combating and stopping this horrible crime.
The nonprofits would have to be registered with Treasury in order to
qualify for the safe harbor and would have to abide by any safeguards
Treasury establishes to ensure that the information they are providing
is credible and accurate.
So the bill would not open the door to blatantly false or malicious
accusations being made. To the contrary, it would help nonprofits who
are actively engaged in stopping human trafficking around the world.
Without this safe harbor, these nonprofits would be afraid to share
the information they have about traffickers with banks out of fear of
being sued.
This bill is supported by law enforcement. This bill will allow a
cracking down on this terrible, terrible crime that costs the lives of
thousands of our young people. It is important.
This bill will save lives. That is why I support it, and I urge my
colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema).
Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, every day, I hear from Arizonans who are
sick and tired of the dysfunction in Washington. They know that the
partisan fights and name-calling keeps Congress from delivering the
results that Arizona families expect from their leaders.
Arizonans deserve leaders who come together and find solutions on
issues that matter, like keeping our families safe, protecting our
Nation, and honoring our commitment to veterans.
We can still get things done for Arizona families if we would stop
the political games and work across the aisle. We have an opportunity
to prove that today by passing three bipartisan bills that will make a
difference for Arizonans.
I am lucky to have worked closely with my Republican colleagues on
these three commonsense solutions that improve our ability to fight
human trafficking, protect our country from weapons of mass
destruction, and support Arizona veterans.
We have a moral obligation to fight human trafficking, stand up for
victims, and bring traffickers to justice. That is why I cosponsored
the Empowering Financial Institutions to Fight Human Trafficking Act
with Congresswoman Wagner, Congresswoman Maloney, Congresswoman Love,
and Congresswoman Tenney.
This legislation helps nonprofits share valuable intelligence and
collaborate with institutions in real time. Nonprofits are frequently
on the front lines of this fight, combating trafficking and supporting
victims. They see what is happening on the ground,
[[Page H9056]]
and our bill ensures we can freeze money and stop those traffickers in
their tracks. This is good policy that will protect families, and I
urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Keeping Arizonans safe is my top priority. We are also set to pass a
bipartisan bill I introduced with Congressman Tipton to protect America
from terrorists and rogue states like North Korea and Iran.
This week, the President has addressed the United Nations to call for
action to stop weapons proliferation and other threats in Iran. In
Congress, we are taking bipartisan action to combat these same threats.
Our bill, the Improving Strategies to Counter Weapons Proliferation
Act, makes it harder for America's enemies to get their hands on the
world's most deadly weapons by helping choke off the financing of
terrorist activity. This bill makes our country safer and our
communities safer, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Finally, we must always ensure that our support for veterans is
worthy of their sacrifice, and that is why I worked across the aisle
with Congressman Zeldin and Congresswoman Tenney to introduce and pass
the Protect Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act. This bill fixes the
law and protects veterans from higher costs to refinance their homes.
Our actions help more Arizona veterans achieve the American Dream of
homeownership, and, again, I would urge my colleagues to support this
bipartisan fix that helps America's heroes.
These three bills show that we can get things done and deliver for
everyday Arizonans if we just work together and find common ground, and
I will continue to work across the aisle to keep Arizona families safe
and ensure we honor our commitment to our veterans and military
families.
In particular, I want to thank Congresswoman Wagner, Congressman
Tipton, and Congresswoman Tenney for working together on these
important bills, and I urge my colleagues to support these bipartisan
bills.
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the
gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), and I ask unanimous consent
that she be allowed to control that time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
In closing, I would like to reiterate, despite what some have said
about this piece of legislation, that this legislation requires NGOs to
register with Treasury in order to create a process that protects only
rigorous, credible organizations that can offer verifiable information
to financial institutions. This process will safeguard innocent people
and entities that may currently be targeted by the broad, general
patterns that are reported to financial institutions.
At present, there is no way for financial institutions to wade
through all the tips and information they receive and use it to prevent
traffickers from using our financial systems. We need a meaningful
system that can actually identify traffickers and allow banks to verify
those IDs. That is what this bill does.
I would also like to make clear that this piece of legislation does
not amend or touch the PATRIOT Act and does not create any new
structures for banks to share information with each other.
This legislation is supported by organizations, including, Mr.
Speaker, Western Union, MoneyGram, and Liberty Asia. It also happens to
be one of the key recommendations from Polaris' groundbreaking new
report: ``A Road Map for Systems and Industries to Prevent and Disrupt
Human Trafficking.''
Mr. Speaker, I include the report in the Record.
2. Pass legislation to provide safe harbor to facilitate
information sharing between civil society and financial
institutions
NGOs that work with survivors and vulnerable populations
often have access to critical information about bad actors.
Regulations focused on the sharing of information between
financial institutions or between financial institutions and
government agencies, such as Section 314(a) and (b) of the
USA Patriot Act or the regulations for filing Suspicious
Activity Reports (SARs), provide appropriate protections for
such sharing. No such protections are currently available to
NGOs for sharing critical information that may assist in the
detection, deterrence or prevention of trafficking.
While NGO's are currently able to report tips directly to
law enforcement, the information may be too limited to
realistically spur law enforcement action--often because the
information is obtained from confidential sources who cannot
be contacted by law enforcement. However, if these leads were
provided to financial institutions, the financial
institutions may be able to assist in providing additional,
relevant, and actionable information to law enforcement.
Addressing the liability concerns of NGO's which wish to
participate in information exchanges is an important first
step in actualizing this process. Legislation is required to
provide these protections to NGOs. Once this barrier is
removed, law enforcement, NGO's, and financial institutions
can work together to develop agreed upon processes and
protocols that govern appropriate information sharing.
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, Dow Jones has said that the information
provided to it from NGOs like Liberty Asia and others is relevant and
actionable in its anti-money laundering work.
This bill enables FinCEN and financial institutions to gather hard
intelligence that can be verified or disproven, rather than rely on, as
I said, general, useless, or even faulty tips from nonprofits, private
citizens, and other sources without technical experience that could
lead to false identifications and persecution of innocent actors.
It is the lack of verifiable specificity and the lack of regulated
accreditation that allows for the targeting of innocent groups.
This bill creates a process, run by Treasury, where responsible
nonprofits that professionally analyze information and create
intelligence products that help financial institutions better identify
these crimes can share information without worrying about whether
sharing this information is going to end their organizations.
I could go on and on, but Members of this body should never forget
what we are doing today is protecting the 40 million victims of
trafficking around the world.
Human trafficking is a horrific crime that represents $150 billion
per year, and it is far too often funded by the U.S. financial system.
This is preventable, and today, we are taking steps towards ending
America's financing of exploitation of our most vulnerable.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 6729.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. AMASH. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________