[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5607 Introduced in House (IH)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5607
To enhance the Department of the Treasury's role in protecting national
security, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 28, 2016
Mr. Pittenger (for himself and Mr. Lynch) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in
addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, Armed
Services, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance the Department of the Treasury's role in protecting national
security, and for other purposes.
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 ``Enhancing Treasury's Anti-Terror
Tools Act''.
SEC. 2. EXAMINING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY'S COUNTER-TERROR
FINANCING ROLE IN EMBASSIES.
Within 180 days of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall issue a report to the Committee on Financial Services of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs of the Senate containing--
(1) a list of the United States embassies in which a full-
time Department of the Treasury attache is stationed;
(2) 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 a permanent assignments;
(3) how the Department of the Treasury's interests relating
to anti-terror finance, money laundering, and related illicit
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;
(4) a description of the role the Department of the
Treasury attaches play in advancing America's anti-terrorism
financing interests;
(5) a discussion of patterns, trends, or other issues
identified by Department of the Treasury attaches in the
previous year concerning anti-terror finance, money laundering,
and related illicit finance;
(6) recommendations to improve coordination between the
Department of the Treasury and foreign financial ministries of
efforts to block the financing of terror, money laundering, and
related illicit finance; and
(7) a discussion of whether the Department of the
Treasury's interests relating to anti-terror finance, money
laundering, or related illicit finance issues are thought to be
under-represented in some embassies or regions.
SEC. 3. CLARIFYING REQUIREMENTS FOR RECORDKEEPING.
(a) In General.--Section 5326 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in the heading of such section, by striking ``coin and
currency'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``subtitle and'' and inserting
``subtitle or to''; and
(B) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``United
States coins or currency (or such other monetary
instruments as the Secretary may describe in such
order)'' and inserting ``funds (as the Secretary may
describe in such order),''; and
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``coins or
currency (or monetary instruments)'' and inserting
``funds''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``coins or
currency (or such other monetary instruments as the
Secretary may describe in the regulation or order)''
and inserting ``funds (as the Secretary may describe in
the regulation or order)''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for chapter 53 of
title 31, United States Code, is amended in the item relating to
section 5326 by striking ``coin and currency''.
SEC. 4. STUDY OF BUREAU STATUS.
(a) Study.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall carry out a study
on the advisability and implications of transforming the Office of
Terrorism and Financial Intelligence into a standalone bureau of the
Department of the Treasury, and the effects such a move would have on
the Department of the Treasury's efforts to stop money laundering, the
financing of terror, and related illicit finance.
(b) Report.--Within 270 days of the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue a report to the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate
containing all findings and determinations made in carrying out the
study required under subsection (a).
SEC. 5. IMPROVING ANTI-TERROR FINANCE MONITORING OF FUNDS TRANSFERS.
(a) Study.--To improve the Department of the Treasury's ability to
better track cross-border fund transfers and identify potential
financing of terror or other illicit finance, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall carry out a study to assess--
(1) the potential efficacy of requiring banking regulators
to establish a pilot program to provide technical assistance to
depository institutions and credit unions that wish to provide
account services to money services businesses serving
individuals in Somalia;
(2) whether such a pilot program could be a model for
improving the ability of Americans to legitimately send funds
to their loved ones through transparent and easily monitored
channels; and
(3) the potential impact of allowing money services
businesses to share their State examinations with depository
institutions and credit unions, or if another mechanism could
be found to allow a similar exchange of information that would
give such depository institutions and credit unions a better
understanding of whether an individual money services business
is adequately meeting its anti-money laundering and counter
terror financing obligations to combat money laundering, the
financing of terror, or related illicit finance.
(b) Report.--Within 270 days of the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue a report to the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate
containing all findings and determinations made in carrying out the
study required under subsection (a).
(c) Money Services Business Defined.--For purposes of this section,
the term ``money services business'' has the meaning given that term
under section 1010.100 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.
SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury,
acting in the Secretary's own capacity and through the Under Secretary
for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, should work with finance ministry
counterparts worldwide to spur the development within such ministries
of entities similar to the Department of the Treasury's Office of
Intelligence and Analysis to more solidly integrate the intelligence
community with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing
efforts.
SEC. 7. UNIFIED ELECTRONIC STREAM.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall, within 180 days of the date of
the enactment of this Act, implement a program to collect, assemble,
maintain in an up-to-date form, and make available electronically to
appropriate Federal departments and agencies, including the Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network, the Bureau of Industry and Security of the
Department of the Commerce, the Census Bureau, the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, a unified
stream of import and export data, including bills of lading, manifests,
Electronic Data Interchange information tracking container movements,
and similar currently collected information that would help such
departments and agencies detect and prevent terrorist financing, money
laundering, or other forms of illicit finance in any form, while
protecting proprietary business information and other sensitive
information from unauthorized disclosure, in accordance with other
Federal laws.
SEC. 8. ADDING THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY
COUNCIL.
Section 101(a) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C.
3021(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs
(6) and (7), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) the Secretary of the Treasury;''.
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