[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 174 (Monday, December 5, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6711-S6712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5127. Mr. McCONNELL (for Mr. Shelby (for himself and Mr. Brown))
proposed an amendment to 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; as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
TITLE I--ENHANCING ANTITERRORISM TOOLS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE
TREASURY
SEC. 101. 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 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''.
SEC. 102. IMPROVING ANTITERROR FINANCE MONITORING OF FUNDS
TRANSFERS.
(a) Study.--
(1) In general.--To improve the ability of the Department
of the Treasury to better track cross-border fund transfers
and identify potential financing of terrorist or other forms
of illicit finance, the Secretary shall carry out a study to
assess--
(A) the potential efficacy of requiring banking regulators
to establish a pilot program to provide technical assistance
to depository institutions and credit unions that wish to
provide account services to money services businesses serving
individuals in Somalia;
(B) whether such a pilot program could be a model for
improving the ability of United States persons to make
legitimate funds transfers through transparent and easily
monitored channels while preserving strict compliance with
the Bank Secrecy Act (Public Law 91-508; 84 Stat. 1114) and
related controls aimed at stopping money laundering and the
financing of terrorism; and
(C) consistent with current legal requirements regarding
confidential supervisory information, the potential impact of
allowing money services businesses to share certain State
examination information with depository institutions and
credit unions, or whether another appropriate mechanism could
be identified to allow a similar exchange of information to
give the depository institutions and credit unions a better
understanding of whether an individual money services
business is adequately meeting its anti-money laundering and
counter-terror financing obligations to combat money
laundering, the financing of terror, or related illicit
finance.
(2) Public input.--The Secretary should solicit and
consider public input as appropriate in developing this
study.
(b) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that contains all
findings and determinations made in carrying out the study
required under subsection (a).
SEC. 103. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
REGARDING TERRORIST FINANCING INTELLIGENCE.
It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary, acting
through the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial
Crimes, should intensify work with foreign partners to help
the foreign partners develop intelligence analytic
capacities, in a finance ministry or other appropriate
agency, that are--
(1) commensurate to the threats faced by the foreign
partner; and
(2) designed to better integrate intelligence efforts with
the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing
regimes of the foreign partner.
SEC. 104. EXAMINING THE COUNTER-TERROR FINANCING ROLE OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY IN EMBASSIES.
Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Financial
Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate a report that contains--
(1) a list of the United States embassies in which a full-
time Department of the Treasury financial attache is
stationed and a description of how the interests of the
Department of the Treasury relating to terrorist financing
and money laundering are addressed (via regional attaches or
otherwise) at US embassies where no such attaches are
present;
(2) a list of the United States embassies at which the
Department of the Treasury has assigned a technical
assistance advisor from the Office of Technical Assistance of
the Department of the Treasury;
(3) an overview of how Department of the Treasury financial
attaches and technical assistance advisors assist in efforts
to counter illicit finance, to include money laundering,
terrorist financing, and proliferation financing; and
(4) an overview of patterns, trends, or other issues
identified by Department of the Treasury attaches and whether
resources are sufficient to address these issues.
TITLE II--NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR COMBATING TERRORIST AND OTHER ILLICIT
FINANCING
SEC. 201. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--The President, acting through the
Secretary shall, in consultation with the Attorney General,
the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
the Director of National Intelligence, and the appropriate
Federal banking agencies, develop a national strategy for
combating the financing of terrorism and related forms of
illicit finance.
(b) Transmittal to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than January 31, 2018, the
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a comprehensive national strategy developed in
accordance with subsection (a).
(2) Updates.--Not later than January 31, 2020, and January
31, 2022, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees updated versions of the national
strategy submitted under paragraph (1).
(c) Separate Presentation of Classified Material.--Any part
of the national strategy that involves information that is
properly classified under criteria established by the
President shall be submitted to the Congress separately in a
classified annex and, if requested by the chairman or ranking
Member of one of the appropriate congressional committees, as
a briefing at an appropriate level of security.
SEC. 202. CONTENTS.
(a) In General.--The strategy described in section 201
shall contain the following:
(1) Evaluation of existing efforts.--An assessment of the
effectiveness of and ways in which the United States is
currently addressing the highest levels of risk of various
forms of illicit finance, including those identified in the
documents entitled ``2015 National Money Laundering Risk
Assessment'' and ``2015 National Terrorist Financing Risk
Assessment'', published by the Department of the Treasury and
a description of how the strategy is integrated into, and
supports, the broader counter terrorism strategy of the
United States.
[[Page S6712]]
(2) Goals, objectives, and priorities.--A comprehensive,
research-based, long-range, quantifiable discussion of goals,
objectives, and priorities for disrupting and preventing
illicit finance activities within and transiting the
financial system of the United States that outlines
priorities to reduce the incidence, dollar value, and effects
of illicit finance.
(3) Threats.--An identification of the most significant
illicit finance threats to the financial system of the United
States.
(4) Reviews and proposed changes.--Reviews of enforcement
efforts, relevant regulations and relevant provisions of law
and, if appropriate, discussions of proposed changes
determined to be appropriate to ensure that the United States
pursues coordinated and effective efforts at all levels of
government, and with international partners of the United
States, in the fight against illicit finance.
(5) Detection and prosecution initiatives.--A description
of efforts to improve detection and prosecution of illicit
finance, including efforts to ensure that--
(A) subject to legal restrictions, all appropriate data
collected by the Federal Government that is relevant to the
efforts described in this section be available in a timely
fashion to--
(i) all appropriate Federal departments and agencies; and
(ii) as appropriate and consistent with section 314 of the
International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-
Terrorism Act of 2001 (31 U.S.C. 5311 note), to financial
institutions to assist the financial institutions in efforts
to comply with laws aimed at curbing illicit finance; and
(B) appropriate efforts are undertaken to ensure that
Federal departments and agencies charged with reducing and
preventing illicit finance make thorough use of publicly
available data in furtherance of this effort.
(6) The role of the private financial sector in prevention
of illicit finance.--A discussion of ways to enhance
partnerships between the private financial sector and Federal
departments and agencies with regard to the prevention and
detection of illicit finance, including--
(A) efforts to facilitate compliance with laws aimed at
stopping such illicit finance while maintaining the
effectiveness of such efforts; and
(B) providing guidance to strengthen internal controls and
to adopt on an industry-wide basis more effective policies.
(7) Enhancement of intergovernmental cooperation.--A
discussion of ways to combat illicit finance by enhancing--
(A) cooperative efforts between and among Federal, State,
and local officials, including State regulators, State and
local prosecutors, and other law enforcement officials;
(B) cooperative efforts with and between governments of
countries and with and between multinational institutions,
including the Financial Action Task Force, with expertise in
fighting illicit finance.
(8) Trend analysis of emerging illicit finance threats.--A
discussion of and data regarding trends in illicit finance,
including evolving forms of value transfer such as so-called
cryptocurrencies, other methods that are computer,
telecommunications, or Internet-based, cyber crime, or any
other threats that the Secretary may choose to identify.
(9) Budget priorities.--A multiyear budget plan that
identifies sufficient resources needed to successfully
execute the full range of missions called for in this
section.
(10) Technology enhancements.--An analysis of current and
developing ways to leverage technology to improve the
effectiveness of efforts to stop the financing of terrorism
and other forms of illicit finance, including better
integration of open-source data.
TITLE III--DEFINITIONS
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, the
Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Homeland Security,
and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
the Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on Armed
Services, Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Select Committee
on Intelligence of the Senate;
(2) the term ``appropriate Federal banking agencies'' has
the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813);
(3) the term ``Bank Secrecy Act'' means--
(A) section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12
U.S.C. 1829b);
(B) chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91-508 (12 U.S.C.
1951 et seq.); and
(C) subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States
Code;
(4) the term ``illicit finance'' means the financing of
terrorism, money laundering, or other forms of illicit
financing domestically or internationally, as defined by the
President;
(5) the term ``money services business'' has the meaning
given the term under section 1010.100 of title 31, Code of
Federal Regulations;
(6) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Treasury; and
(7) the term ``State'' means each of the several States,
the District of Columbia, and each territory or possession of
the United States.
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