[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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