[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 111 (Monday, July 11, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4590-H4591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INCLUSION OF ALL FUNDS WHEN ISSUING CERTAIN GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING ORDERS

  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 5602) to amend title 31, United States Code, to 
authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to include all funds when 
issuing certain geographic targeting orders, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5602

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. INCLUSION OF ALL FUNDS.

       (a) In General.--Section 5326 of title 31, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in the heading of such section, by striking ``coin and 
     currency'';
       (2) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``subtitle and'' and inserting ``subtitle 
     or to''; and
       (B) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``United States coins 
     or currency (or such

[[Page H4591]]

     other monetary instruments as the Secretary may describe in 
     such order)'' and inserting ``funds (as the Secretary may 
     describe in such order),''; and
       (3) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``coins or currency 
     (or monetary instruments)'' and inserting ``funds''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``coins or currency (or 
     such other monetary instruments as the Secretary may describe 
     in the regulation or order)'' and inserting ``funds (as the 
     Secretary may describe in the regulation or order)''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for chapter 
     53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended in the item 
     relating to section 5326 by striking ``coin and currency''.

  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, H.R. 5602 amends the section of the United States Code 
that allows the Treasury Secretary to issue ``geographical targeting 
orders,'' requiring more detailed information to be reported to the 
Treasury Department regarding certain types of transactions in a 
specific area for a limited amount of time.
  These geographical targeting orders, or GTOs, allow the Treasury to 
seek more granular detail on a type of activity in a specific area 
believed to be used for some form of illicit finance. GTOs in the past 
have been used to identify trade-based money laundering in counterfeit 
electronics or garments, or to identify repatriation of drug sales 
proceeds to drug traffickers.
  During a February task force hearing, former U.S. intelligence 
officer and Treasury special agent cited trade-based money laundering 
as an area of concern when dealing with illicit financing, stating that 
such techniques are allowing our adversaries to transfer value to one 
another right under our noses.
  Current language allows the Secretary to seek more detailed reporting 
of coins, currency, or monetary instruments. But Treasury believes that 
language does not, in some instances, allow for requiring, or 
compelling the reporting of, information on some sorts of noncash 
transactions.
  As illicit finance increasingly seeks to elude detection in the legal 
banking system, a slightly broader of what sorts of transfers of value 
should be reported would make such GTOs more effective, in Treasury's 
view.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking House Financial 
Services Committee Chairman Hensarling of Texas and Ranking Member 
Maxine Waters of California for creating the Financial Services 
Committee's Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, which is a 
21-member bipartisan group charged with ensuring that our government is 
using every tool at its disposal to deprive groups like the Islamic 
State, Boko Haram, and other terrorist organizations of the funds they 
rely on to advance their destructive ideology.
  I would also like to thank our chairman, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick); our vice chair, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger); and the rest of my colleagues on the 
Financial Services Committee for their work to improve our efforts to 
halt terrorist financing.
  The bill I introduced that is before us today expands the Financial 
Crimes Enforcement Network's ability to collect information under 
geographic targeting orders. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle, 
including Mr. Peter King of New York, Ms. Maxine Waters of California, 
Mr. Michael Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mr. Gregory Meeks of New York, 
Mr. Steve Stivers of Ohio, Mr. Bruce Poliquin of Maine, Mr. Robert 
Pittenger of North Carolina, Mr. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Mr. Andy 
Barr of Kentucky, Mr. Bill Foster of Illinois, Mr. Brad Sherman of 
California, Mr. French Hill of Arkansas, and Mr. Al Green of Texas, 
joined me in cosponsoring this important legislation.
  During congressional delegations to foreign countries to deal with 
the central banks in other countries and also financial intelligence 
units from very difficult locations, we made it a priority to meet with 
regional financial intelligence units to get updates on efforts to 
combat terrorist financing. Witnessing the important work of the FIUs 
around the globe demonstrates the need for the United States to 
continue to support efforts to develop robust legal, regulatory, and 
operational frameworks to combat terrorist financing and money 
laundering.
  In line with that, it is crucial that we work to strengthen the 
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, the U.S. financial 
intelligence unit. By sharing financial intelligence with law 
enforcement, private industry, and its foreign counterparts, FinCEN 
supports financial crime investigations throughout the world. 
Terrorists' proven ability to move money through innovative means 
necessitates continued progress in this critical counterterrorism area.
  The smart, brave Americans who serve at FinCEN work tirelessly every 
day to track and stop the flow of proceeds of crime and funds that 
would otherwise be used to aid terrorism in order to safeguard our 
financial system from evolving money laundering and national security 
threats.
  FinCEN's critical role is evidenced through its recent support to the 
Paris and Belgium terrorist attack investigations, where FinCEN's 
expertise assisted in quickly identifying links between those two 
attacks. FinCEN published 51 intelligence reports related to the Paris 
attacks and two intelligence reports related to the Brussels attack. 
Moreover, FinCEN's financial intelligence played an important role in 
identifying potential Islamic State foreign terrorist fighters.
  With increasingly complex and rapidly evolving terrorist networks, we 
need to ensure that we provide FinCEN with all of the tools and 
resources it needs to fight evolving terrorist threats.
  The geographic targeting order expansion is a new device in the 
counterterrorism financing toolkit to catch bad actors that are 
adapting to our countermeasures. If enacted into law, this legislation 
will allow us to identify wider networks of terrorist financiers and 
their enablers. We introduced this legislation because the experts at 
FinCEN told us they need it to stop bad actors.
  So on behalf of Representatives Peter King, Maxine Waters, Mike 
Fitzpatrick, Greg Meeks, Steve Stivers, Bruce Poliquin, Bob Pittenger, 
Keith Ellison, Andy Barr, Bill Foster, Brad Sherman, French Hill, and 
Al Green, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I just want to, again, thank my 
colleague, Mr. Lynch, for bringing this bill to the task force's 
attention and for authoring the bill. The bill is smart. It is 
targeted. It will help the United States Treasury Department do its job 
of rooting out those who finance terrorism so that we can all remain 
safe.
  With that, I ask my colleagues to support and adopt H.R. 5602.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  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. 5602.
  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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