[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12625-S12627]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    STRATEGY TO COMBAT MONEY LAUNDERING AND RELATED FINANCIAL CRIMES

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 1756, which was received 
from the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1756) to amend chapter 53 of title 31, United 
     States Code, to require the development and implementation by 
     the Secretary of the Treasury of a national money laundering 
     and related financial crimes strategy to combat money 
     laundering and related financial crimes, and for other 
     purposes.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the bill?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.


                           Amendment No. 3828

  (Purpose: To amend the definition of ``money laundering and related 
                          financial crimes'')

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, Senators Grassley and D'Amato have an 
amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Idaho (Mr. Craig), for Mr. Grassley, for 
     himself and Mr. D'Amato, proposes an amendment numbered 3828.
       On page 2, strike line 21 and all that follows through page 
     3, line 3 and insert the following:
       ``(2) Money laundering and related financial crime.--The 
     term `money laundering and related financial crime'--
       ``(A) means the movement of illicit cash or cash equivalent 
     proceeds into, out of, or through the United States, or into, 
     out of, or through United States financial institutions, as 
     defined in section 5312 of title 31, United States Code; or
       ``(B) has the meaning given that term (or the term used for 
     an equivalent offense) under State and local criminal 
     statutes pertaining to the movement of illicit cash or cash 
     equivalent proceeds.''.

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to see this historic 
piece

[[Page S12626]]

of legislation will pass the Senate. After much careful work with 
Senator D'Amato, the Treasury Department, and the Justice Department, 
as well as our colleagues in the other body, we have crafted a bill 
that I believe will lead to much improved coordination in fighting 
money laundering. I want to thank everyone involved for their hard work 
on this legislation.
  The bill will hit the criminals where they feel it the most--in their 
pocketbooks. By implementing a strategy on a national level, hundreds 
of communities across our country will no longer be held hostage by 
these criminal enterprises. As you know, money laundering involves 
disguising financial assets so they can be used without detection of 
the illegal activity that produced them. Through money laundering, the 
criminal transforms the monetary proceeds derived from the criminal 
activity into funds with an apparently legal source. Money laundering 
provides the resources from drug dealers, terrorists, arms dealers, and 
other criminals to operate and expand their criminal enterprises. 
Today, experts estimate that money laundering has grown into a $500 
billion problem worldwide.
  The Money Laundering and Related Financial Crimes Strategy Act of 
1998 will authorize the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with 
the Attorney General and other relevant agencies, to coordinate and 
implement a national strategy to address the exploitation of our 
Nation's payment systems to facilitate money laundering and related 
financial crimes. I look forward to the delivery of this first strategy 
next February, and believe it will be a valuable document not only for 
law enforcement agencies, but also for Congress as we look to react to 
the increasingly inventive ways criminals take advantage of our 
financial system. I hope this legislation will be the beginning of a 
serious effort by Congress to impact the growing threat of money 
laundering not only to our Nation, but worldwide.
  Mr. D'AMATO. Today, Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support 
the passage of H.R. 1756, the Money Laundering and Financial Crimes 
Strategy Act of 1997. I am glad that we have been able to reach this 
point. The House has sent over H.R. 1756, a strong antimoney laundering 
tool for law enforcement, and after some negotiation, we have amended 
the language slightly. The House has agreed to accept the compromise 
and I have a letter from James E. Johnson, Under Secretary for 
Enforcement at the Treasury Department supporting the goals of this 
legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the letter be printed in the 
Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. D'AMATO. I believe we are now ready to proceed to passage of the 
bill providing sufficient time for the House to act.
  Mr. President, this is an important tool for the counternarcotics 
effort. Drug traffickers and dealers are destroying our families, 
communities and the future of our children, and we must fight them 
with Every weapon at our disposal. This bill will attack drug 
traffickers by making it harder for these criminals to profit from 
their illegal windfalls.

  Mr. President, through money laundering, drug traffickers are able to 
take their blood money and launder it clean. Their ill gotten gains are 
then filtered throughout our economy. Money laundering sustains drug 
traffickers and arms dealers, as well as terrorists and other criminals 
searching for a way to prolong their illegal enterprises.
  That is why I joined with Senator Grassley and Congresswoman 
Velazquez to develop the Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy 
Act which the House passed on October 5, 1998. The bill will provide 
the means for federal, state and local crime fighters to pursue and 
prosecute the drug traffickers and those that finance their criminal 
trade.
  This bill will allow the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney 
General to create a national money laundering strategy and designate 
high risk zones. State and local officials within these zones will be 
encouraged to form a task force and become eligible for enforcement and 
technical assistance and, most importantly, anti-money laundering 
grants.
  Mr. President, let me explain why this is especially important for 
New York, where money launderers have benefited from the financial, 
trade and transportation systems in the metropolitan area. New York is 
the largest financial center in this country--and one of the top three 
international money centers in the world. Unfortunately, money 
launderers have used this infrastructure to pursue their own criminal 
activities.
  Assistance by state and local officers in New York has been 
invaluable in stopping drug traffickers from sending money back to the 
cartels. In 1997, in the New York area, law enforcement officials 
determined that organized narcotics traffickers were using the services 
of unscrupulous money remitters and their agents to send the proceeds 
of drug sales back to the drug source countries.
  Utilizing a temporary Geographical Targeting Order (GTO) for the New 
York metropolitan area, remitters and agents were required to report 
detailed information about the remittances of cash to Colombia of more 
than $750.
  Within a week of the GTO's issuance, the local, state and federal 
agencies that made up the El Dorado Task Force found that money 
laundering activity in that area, Jackson Heights, dropped 
dramatically. The number of remittances to Colombia dropped 95 percent 
and the dollar amount dropped 97 percent (from $67 million to $2 
million). The New York GTO resulted in the seizure of millions in 
currency that was diverted to bulk shipments through the air and 
seaports and most importantly, disrupted the profit back to the drug 
cartels.
  Mr. President, this operation was a huge success--thanks to the 
cooperative efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement. We 
should build on that cooperation with this legislation.
  Law enforcement efforts must follow the financial schemes and cash 
flows of the drug traffickers. As the drug cartels change their method 
of laundering their proceeds, law enforcement must respond. This bill 
provides law enforcement and prosecutors with the resources and 
flexibility to do just that. This monumental effort will cripple the 
drug traffickers where it hurts--in their pockets--and take an 
important step forward in our war on drugs.
  I am proud to have cosponsored the Senate measure with Senator 
Grassley and to have worked with Representative Velazquez to enact this 
important tool in antidrug efforts.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important anticrime bill.

                               Exhibit 1


                                   Department of the Treasury,

                                  Washington, DC, October 8, 1998.
     Hon. Alfonse D'Amato,
     Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
         Affairs, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: During the course of this year we have 
     been following a bill introduced by Congresswoman Velazquez, 
     the ``Money Laundering and Related Financial Crimes Strategy 
     Act'' (H.R. 1756). On June 16, the Treasury Department 
     provided testimony on H.R. 1756 indicating support for the 
     bill's overall goals and objectives.
       We continue to support these goals. We appreciate that 
     Congresswoman Velazquez's bill recognizes the scope of the 
     money laundering problem, and attempts to develop a mechanism 
     to address these challenges. Developing an anti-money 
     laundering strategy could prove useful in setting priorities 
     and communicating them to Congress and the public. Moreover, 
     money laundering enforcement is complex and resource-
     intensive. Enforcement of money laundering laws could benefit 
     from proper coordination among federal, state, and local law 
     enforcement.
       We also appreciate the bill's goal of providing additional 
     resources for state and local antimoney laundering 
     activities. Financial crime investigations are complex and 
     require specialized expertise, as well as resource 
     commitments to follow leads that often take time to develop. 
     Cases themselves may span years and are information-
     intensive. Because of this, state and local law enforcement 
     could benefit from additional resources and expertise to 
     fully join the fight against money laundering.
       We look forward to continuing to work with you and your 
     Committee in combating money laundering and other financial 
     crimes.
           Sincerely,
                                                 James E. Johnson,
                                    Under Secretary (Enforcement).

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment be 
agreed to, the bill considered read a third time and passed, the motion 
to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to 
the bill be printed in the Record.

[[Page S12627]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3828) was agreed to.
  The bill (H.R. 1756), as amended, was passed.

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