[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1645]]
TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 14, 2004

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5025) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Transportation and 
     Treasury, and independent agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2005, and for other purposes.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Oxley-Frank-
Kolbe amendment.
  This bipartisan amendment from the leadership of the Financial 
Services Committee corrects the Culbertson provision, a major defect in 
this appropriations bill that would severely damage the ability of law 
enforcement to track and target terrorist money.
  The White House, the Treasury Department, the banking community--both 
banks and credit unions, the immigration community, and more than 1,000 
police departments across the country, are united in their support for 
this amendment, and in opposition to the Culbertson provision.
  The Culbertson provision guts the key financial anti-terrorism law 
under which the Treasury Department and financial institutions across 
the Nation work together to combat terrorist funding.
  Under the Culbertson amendment, Treasury could not enforce or even 
publish its regulations telling financial institutions that they must 
verify the identity of their customers.
  This requirement to verify customer's identity was a key piece of the 
money laundering provisions of the Patriot Act, which were specifically 
noted by the 9/11 Commission as an important step towards combating 
terrorism.
  The 9/11 Commission was clear on how we need to combat terrorist 
funding: ``Follow the money,'' the Commission said.
  But the Culbertson provision would drive a significant sector of the 
economy out of banks and into illicit financial systems, where money is 
far harder to trace and far more subject to criminal activity.
  Secretary Snow--the administration's key Cabinet officer in the 
effort to track terrorist funding--described the Culbertson provision 
as follows: ``Because this provision could drive large sections of the 
U.S. population into underground financial services, it would weaken 
the Government ability to enforce our money laundering and terrorist 
financing laws.'' This is the position of the administration--including 
the Department of Justice and the FBI.
  The Culbertson provision targets a form of identification known as 
matricula, which are issued to Mexican citizens who register with their 
consul in the United States.
  Supporters of the provision argue that matricula are unreliable. But 
this view is uninformed. The matricula system is internationally 
recognized and well established.
  In the aftermath of 9/11, Mexico increased the security features on 
this card, so that it is now harder to forge or fraudulently obtain 
than many state drivers' license.
  Mexico maintains a national database to prevent the issuance of 
duplicate matricula or the issuance of matricula to criminals on a 
``stop list''.
  The cards are accepted by many U.S. banks as a proper and reliable 
form of identification for Mexican citizens in the U.S.
  As many financial associations and institutions have written, 
eliminating the sue of these cards would undermine the abilities of 
financial institutions to assist law enforcement in ``following the 
money'' by verifying customers' identity.
  Additionally, the Culbertson provision would deprive many workers in 
this country of access to legitimate financial services--banks or 
credit unions--and drive them into underground systems where money is 
much harder to trace.
  We are far safer if these segments of the population transact their 
financial affairs in the regulated context of banks and credit unions 
so that law enforcement can track them and ensure they comply with the 
law.
  Moreover, these workers would be deprived of the benefits and 
consumer protections of our regulated financial system.
  Lastly, as the banks note, depriving this segment of the population 
of access to credit and forcing them to a cash-based system will hurt 
the local economy.
  The Culbertson provision is dangerous and fundamentally misguided.
  We must remove it from this bill. I urge your support of this 
amendment.

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