[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 111 (Monday, July 11, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4586-H4588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ANTI-TERRORISM INFORMATION SHARING IS STRENGTH ACT
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 5606) to facilitate better information sharing to assist
in the fight against the funding of terrorist activities, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5606
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 ``Anti-terrorism Information
Sharing Is Strength Act''.
SEC. 2. INFORMATION SHARING.
(a) In General.--Section 314 of the USA PATRIOT Act (31
U.S.C. 5311 note) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``terrorist or money laundering
activities'' and inserting ``terrorist acts, money laundering
activities, or a specified unlawful activity (as defined
under section 1956(c)(7) of title 18, United States Code)'';
and
(B) by striking ``activities that may involve terrorist
acts or money laundering activities'' and inserting
``activities that may involve terrorist acts, money
laundering activities, or a specified unlawful activity'';
and
(2) in subsection (c), by inserting ``or a specified
unlawful activity (as defined under section 1956(c)(7) of
title 18, United States Code)'' after ``terrorist acts or
money laundering activities''.
(b) Update to Regulations.--Section 314(a) of the USA
PATRIOT Act (31 U.S.C. 5311 note) is amended by striking ``or
money laundering activities'' each place such term appears
and inserting ``, money laundering activities, or a specified
unlawful activity (as defined under section 1956(c)(7) of
title 18, United States Code)''.
(c) Sense of Congress.--Section 314 of the USA PATRIOT Act
(31 U.S.C. 5311 note) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(e) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress
that, in furtherance of efforts to stop the financing of
terror and other forms of illicit financing through increased
sharing of information, and consistent with the need to
prevent inappropriate dissemination of such information--
``(1) Federal law enforcement agencies and regulators
should share information about terrorist activities, money
laundering activities, and other specified unlawful
activities (as defined under section 1956(c)(7) of title 18,
United States Code) to the fullest extent possible and in a
timely fashion; and
``(2) financial institutions, including nonbank financial
institutions, should share information about such acts and
activities with each other to the fullest extent possible and
in a timely fashion.''.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE LIABILITY.
Section 5318(g)(3)(B) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting
``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) any duty or requirement of a financial institution
or any director, officer, employee, or agent of such
institution to demonstrate to any person, as used in such
subparagraph, that a disclosure referenced in such
subparagraph is made in good faith.''.
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--Not later than the end of the 120-day
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the Committee
on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate regarding--
(1) the Department of the Treasury's assessment of the
risks and benefits of allowing sharing of information,
consistent with appropriate privacy protections--
(A) between United States financial institutions and
foreign financial institutions;
(B) between United States financial institutions and their
foreign subsidiaries; and
(C) between United States subsidiaries of foreign financial
institutions and their parent financial institutions; and
(2) whether a financial institution defined under section
5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code, that is not
required under Treasury regulations on the date of the
enactment of this Act to maintain an anti-money laundering
program, should be authorized to appropriately share
information pursuant to subsection (b) of section 314 of the
USA PATRIOT Act, if--
(A) the financial institution voluntarily establishes and
maintains such an anti-money laundering program;
(B) such program is subject to examination, and has been
examined, by the appropriate regulator; and
(C) the Secretary determines such program to be adequately
operating.
(b) Separate Presentation of Classified Material.--Any part
of the report described under subsection (a) that involves
information which is properly classified under criteria
established by the President shall be submitted to the
committees described under subsection (a) separately in a
classified annex and, if requested by the chairman or ranking
Member of one of such committees, as a briefing at an
appropriate level of security.
SEC. 5. RULEMAKING.
Not later than the end of the 180-day period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall issue regulations to be consistent with the
amendments made by this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) and the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. Lynch) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
General Leave
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, in the opaque world of counter-threat finance,
information sharing is critical for both the private and also the
public sectors.
The PATRIOT Act created a safe harbor provision allowing for limited
information sharing to combat money
[[Page H4587]]
laundering and terrorist financing. However, this provision has not
been widely used, and some recent court decisions have called into
question banks' liability for complying with requirements to report
suspected money laundering, necessitating minor changes in law to
clarify congressional intent.
{time} 1445
While subsection 314(b) of the PATRIOT Act encourages government
agencies to share appropriate information with banks, and banks to
share information with each other, banks have complained that the
government does an inadequate job of sharing information that could
help banks more easily identify suspicious activities.
Throughout the task force hearings, banks and other experts have
stated that more and better information sharing would reduce the
compliance burden on banks and make their efforts more effective.
H.R. 5606 aims to enhance safe harbor provisions for information
sharing by broadening the range of suspected illegal activities abroad,
but requires a study to determine the appropriate level of sharing with
information subsidiaries or headquarters of U.S. banking operations,
and then requires new rulemaking to clarify congressional intent. This
proposed change would ensure that financial institutions file SARs
without fear of civil litigation simply for complying with Federal law
and would, thus, facilitate the continued flow of critically important
suspicious activity reporting.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would like to just clarify that it was really the task force
chairman, the gentleman from the State of Pennsylvania (Mr.
Fitzpatrick), who set the tone for the bipartisan work between Members
on both sides of the aisle. That has really carried the day and, I
think, resulted in some very strong and effective legislation that came
as a result of the work that many of the Members on both sides of the
aisle here--Mr. Pittenger especially, and Mr. Fitzpatrick as well, and
Members on our side--in dealing with a lot of the governments in the
Middle East, some of the financial intelligence units that operate in
Lebanon, but also in Jordan, in Turkey, in various countries in Africa,
as well as some of the countries that my colleagues visited in South
and Central America. So this is a global effort and, like I say, it is
a bipartisan effort.
I rise today in support of H.R. 5606, legislation offered by my
colleagues, Representatives Pittenger of North Carolina and Ms. Maxine
Waters of California, that will enhance and promote the timely sharing
of information among financial institutions and government agencies in
order to more effectively thwart illicit finance.
In recent years, government officials have repeatedly emphasized the
importance of strengthening and clarifying the information sharing
provisions under current law. Expert witnesses before our committee
have also echoed these sentiments over the course of the Financial
Services Committee's Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing
hearings.
The legislation before us today that I am proud to cosponsor will
facilitate more effective information sharing in a number of ways.
First, the legislation provides assurances to financial institutions
that they may report suspicious transactions without risking being
exposed to civil litigation for simply complying with their obligations
under Federal law. Although FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network, which is our FIU in the United States, has already specified
that financial institutions have complete protection from civil
liability for all reports of suspicious transactions made to
appropriate authorities. Some court rulings have cast doubt on the
level of certainty a financial institution must have before reporting
suspect transactions. H.R. 5606 eliminates this uncertainty in an
effort to ensure the continued reporting of suspicious transactions.
Secondly, the bill seeks to enhance cooperation among financial
institutions, also regulatory authorities and law enforcement, by
expanding the range of counter-illicit financing information shared
with financial institutions for the sole purpose of allowing such
financial institutions to identify and report specified illicit
activity.
Thirdly, H.R. 5606 expands the existing safe harbor for sharing
information related to terrorist acts and money laundering to include a
broader range of information related to illicit activity that is
connected to money laundering and terrorist financing. In doing so,
financial institutions and the government can more effectively connect
the dots that are involved in mapping illicit financing networks.
Finally, the bill includes a study to assess the appropriate levels
of information sharing between U.S. and foreign financial institutions,
between U.S. financial institutions and their foreign subsidiaries, and
between U.S. subsidiaries of foreign financial institutions and their
parent institutions. This cooperation is ultimately necessary.
Given the central role of the U.S. financial system within the global
economy and the sheer volume and diversity of transactions that pass
through U.S. institutions, it is increasingly clear how essential it is
to have a strong, coordinated U.S. Government and private sector
response in the fight against terror finance.
H.R. 5606 will help promote the type of enhanced coordination that is
needed to stay ahead of illicit behavior through the exploitation of
our financial system.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of our Members on both sides of the aisle to
support this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger), the author of the
bill.
Mr. PITTENGER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I
thank the gentleman for the leadership he has shown this past year on
the issue of terrorist group financing. I would also like to pay
recognition and gratitude to Chairman Hensarling for his leadership on
this, and Ranking Member Maxine Waters of California for her
leadership. Particularly, I would like to make note of the ranking
member of our Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch), and thank the gentleman for
his great efforts and work.
Our task force bills on the floor today are the result of a
bipartisan, year-long series of hearings that focused on ways to
improve and tailor our laws to better address the evolving threats
posed by terrorist groups within our financial sector.
My bill, the Anti-Terrorism Information Sharing Is Strength Act,
cosponsored with Ms. Maxine Waters of California, helps clarify our
current illicit financial laws with Mr. Lynch and provides much-needed
technical corrections to ensure that our current laws work as
originally intended by Congress. We must work to ensure that private
financial institutions are not penalized for working with the Federal
Government to combat terrorism financing.
Mr. Speaker, some Members of this body have been spreading some
misinformation about our efforts, specifically regarding section 314 of
the PATRIOT Act. Section 314 plays a vital role in enabling our law
enforcement the ability to share information and intelligence about
terrorist financiers with private financial institutions in an effort
to put an end to illicit financing. Terrorist organizations, much like
criminal enterprises, are becoming more sophisticated in terms of the
methods they use to evade American and international laws to combat
money laundering and illicit financing.
As the U.S. Government considers initiatives to counter ISIS and
other terror organizations, we must include financial components to
ensure that these groups do not receive the funding necessary to
conduct operations and to further promote fear, extremism, and
violence.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, let me again thank Mr. Pittenger for his
great work and also Ms. Maxine Waters' tremendous work. I thank Mr.
Fitzpatrick again for his leadership.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members to vote in favor of
H.R. 5606.
I yield back the balance of my time.
[[Page H4588]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5606.
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.
____________________