[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        H.R. 3235, THE MONEY LAUNDERING SUPPRESSION ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                               speech of

                            HON. J.J. PICKLE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 21, 1994

  Mr. PICKLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3235, the Money 
Laundering Suppression Act of 1994. H.R. 3235 will greatly improve the 
Federal Government's ability to deal effectively with money laundering 
issues. The bill improves the usefulness of currency transaction 
reports, addresses the difficulties posed by the recent Supreme Court 
decision related to the crime of structuring, and reduces the reporting 
burdens placed on legitimate businesses without adversely affecting 
Federal law enforcement. The bill will also tighten up on the so-called 
shadow banking system of check cashers and money transmitters. For the 
first time, we are asking these outfits to help their Government combat 
money laundering.
  The Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, 
which I chair, had continuously reviewed the effectiveness of Treasury 
and IRS programs to address money laundering and related tax evasion. I 
have shared the findings of the subcommittee with the Committee on 
Banking. The legislation before the House today effectively deals with 
a number of issues initially identified by the subcommittee on 
Oversight.
  Specifically, my subcommittee found a backlog of Bank Secrecy Act 
[BSA] civil penalty cases at Treasury's Office of Financial Enforcement 
[OFE], which frustrated the regulators, and ultimately resulted in 
fewer penalty referrals to OFE. This legislation will address the 
backlog of penalty cases at OFE by delegating authority to assess 
penalties under BSA to IRS and bank examiners who actually conduct the 
investigations and detect the violations. Also, my subcommittee found 
that money laundering has shifted to wire-transmitters, check cashers, 
and other non-regulated financial institutions and that the Federal 
Government knows very little about the magnitude of their activities 
because these operations are largely unregulated at the Federal level. 
This legislation will require these transmitters, check cashers, and 
others to register with the Treasury. Further, my subcommittee found 
that the BSA data base contained incomplete and unnecessary currency 
transaction report [CTR] data. This legislation will clean up the BSA 
data base and improve the ability of law-enforcement agencies to access 
reliable data.
  H.R. 3235 will also require all casinos and gaming establishments, 
including Indian gaming operations and the Nevada casinos, to comply 
with the BSA and file CTR's with IRS. We know from our oversight 
hearings that money laundering is taking place in casinos, and that 
more effective enforcement is needed. H.R. 3235 brings all casinos 
under the BSA umbrella. This is a sound, smart policy.
  Money-laundering enforcement is more than identifying drug 
traffickers and confiscating their ill-gotten gains. Money laundering 
threatens the integrity of our voluntary tax system and, as we have 
learned lately, even our national security. It has been reported in the 
press that a CIA spy, Aldrich Hazel Ames, made numerous large cash 
purchases which were reported to IRS as suspicious. I have asked IRS to 
provide my subcommittee with a report on what actions, if any, the 
agency has taken in response to the Ameses' spending habits and their 
deposits of large cash sums.
  The fight against money laundering and tax evasion is a never-ending 
battle as drug traffickers, tax cheats, and even spies, devise new and 
ingenious ways to disguise the source of their money. It seems that as 
soon as we act to close loopholes in our Federal laws and enforcement 
strategies, money launderers develop new schemes to circumvent the law. 
Therefore, the Congress, working with law enforcement agencies and the 
business and financial communities, must continue to be vigilant in 
this fight and prepared to meet new challenges. H.R. 3235 helps meet 
these challenges.
  Lastly, I want to commend Chairmen Gonzalez and Neal, and the 
Committee on Banking, for developing a strong, responsible, and 
important piece of legislation. The art of money laundering is a 
continual state of change. We need this legislation now to give law 
enforcement a fighting chance. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
3235.

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