[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.

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