[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 6, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1395-H1398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR COMBATING THE FINANCING OF TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL 
                           ORGANIZATIONS ACT

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4768) to require the President to develop a national strategy to 
combat the financial networks of transnational organized criminals, and 
for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4768

       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 ``National Strategy for 
     Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal 
     Organizations Act''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL STRATEGY.

       (a) In General.--The President, acting through the 
     Secretary of the Treasury, shall, in consultation with the 
     Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
     Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, the 
     Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Financial Crimes 
     Enforcement Network, the Director of the United States Secret 
     Service, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
     the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the 
     Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, the Director 
     of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the 
     Federal functional regulators, develop a national strategy to 
     combat the financial networks of transnational organized 
     criminals.
       (b) Transmittal to Congress.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the 
     enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
     appropriate Congressional committees and make available to 
     the relevant government agencies as defined in subsection 
     (a), a comprehensive national strategy in accordance with 
     subsection (a).
       (2) Updates.--After the initial submission of the national 
     strategy under paragraph (1), the President shall, not less 
     often than every 2 years, update the national strategy and 
     submit the updated strategy to the appropriate Congressional 
     committees.
       (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 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. 3. CONTENTS OF NATIONAL STRATEGY.

       The national strategy described in section 2 shall contain 
     the following:
       (1) Threats.--An identification and assessment of the most 
     significant current transnational organized crime threats 
     posed to the national security of the United States or to the 
     U.S. and international financial system, including drug and 
     human trafficking organizations, cyber criminals, 
     kleptocrats, and other relevant state and non-state entities, 
     including those threats identified in the President's 
     ``Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime'' 
     (published July 2011).
       (2) Illicit finance.--(A) An identification of individuals, 
     entities, and networks (including terrorist organizations, if 
     any) that provide financial support or financial facilitation 
     to transnational organized crime groups, and an assessment of 
     the scope and role of those providing financial support to 
     transnational organized crime groups.
       (B) An assessment of methods by which transnational 
     organized crime groups launder illicit proceeds, including 
     money laundering using real estate and other tangible goods 
     such as art and antiquities, trade-based money laundering, 
     bulk cash smuggling, exploitation of shell companies, and 
     misuse of digital currencies and other cyber technologies, as 
     well as an assessment of the risk to the financial system of 
     the United States of such methods.
       (3) Goals, objectives, priorities, and actions.--(A) A 
     comprehensive, research-based, discussion of short-term and 
     long-term goals, objectives, priorities, and actions, listed 
     for each department and agency described under section 2(a), 
     for combating the financing of transnational organized crime 
     groups and their facilitators.
       (B) A description of how the strategy is integrated into, 
     and supports, the national security strategy, drug control 
     strategy, and counterterrorism strategy of the United States.
       (4) Reviews and proposed changes.--A review of current 
     efforts to combat the financing or financial facilitation of 
     transnational organized crime, including efforts to detect, 
     deter, disrupt, and prosecute transnational organized crime 
     groups and their supporters, and, if appropriate, proposed 
     changes to any law or regulation determined to be appropriate 
     to ensure that the United States pursues coordinated and 
     effective efforts within the jurisdiction of the United 
     States, including efforts or actions that are being taken or 
     can be taken by financial institutions, efforts in 
     cooperation with international partners of the United States, 
     and efforts that build partnerships and global capacity to 
     combat transnational organized crime.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--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, the 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, the Committee on Armed 
     Services, the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Select 
     Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
       (2) Federal functional regulator.--The term ``Federal 
     functional regulator'' has the meaning given that term in 
     section 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6809).
       (3) Transnational organized crime.--The term 
     ``transnational organized crime'' refers to those self-
     perpetuating associations of individuals who operate 
     transnationally for the purpose of obtaining power, 
     influence, monetary or commercial gains, wholly or in part by 
     illegal means, while--
       (A) protecting their activities through a pattern of 
     corruption or violence; or
       (B) while protecting their illegal activities through a 
     transnational organizational structure and the exploitation 
     of transnational commerce or communication mechanisms.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4768, the National 
Strategy for Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal 
Organizations Act.
  I want to, at the outset, applaud and thank my colleague Mr. Kustoff 
from Tennessee for his leadership on this important legislation and for 
bringing this solution to the Congress and this solution to the 
American people.
  As Members of Congress, our number one responsibility is the national 
security and the well-being of the American people. Unfortunately, 
transnational criminal organizations threaten the safety of Americans, 
and we must do

[[Page H1396]]

everything in our power to stop them. Transnational criminal 
organizations, or TCOs as they are called for short, are engaged in 
illegal business ventures around the world such as money laundering, 
cybercrime, and the trafficking of drugs, weapons, endangered species, 
and even human beings.
  While TCOs may not be motivated by a particular radical, political, 
or religions ideology, they are motivated by money, and they will stop 
at nothing to get it. According to a 2011 report published by the Obama 
administration, entitled, ``Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized 
Crime,'' TCOs have dramatically ramped up their size, scope, and 
influence, and are even teaming up with terrorist organizations and 
corrupt foreign officials to expand their networks and conceal their 
illicit financial assets.
  These TCOs cost the Western Hemisphere about 3.5 percent of gross 
domestic product annually, and they generate for themselves around $870 
billion, which is roughly the value of the world's largest company, 
Apple.
  President Trump, on February 9, 2017, issued Executive Order 13773 on 
``Enforcing Federal Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal 
Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking.''

                              {time}  1415

  It states that TCOs in the form of transnational drug cartels have a 
stronghold in America and threaten the safety of the American people. 
From former President Obama to current President Trump, TCOs are 
recognized as a major risk to national security. That is why I am very 
pleased to see that my good friend from Tennessee, Congressman  David 
Kustoff, has introduced H.R. 4768, the National Strategy for Combating 
the Financing of Transnational Criminal Organizations Act.
  This legislation requires the President, the Treasury Secretary, 
financial regulators, and other appropriate officials to create a 
national strategy to combat TCOs and their illicit use of financial 
networks. Specifically, the legislation requires them to identify and 
assess the largest TCO threats to the United States. It also mandates 
that the strategy include the identification of the people or groups 
that facilitate access to financial networks for the TCOs through 
laundering assets, such as, real estate, art and antiquities, smuggling 
bulk cash, exploitation of shell companies, and the use of covert 
cryptocurrencies and other cyber technologies.
  The legislation also requires the strategy to include long-term and 
short-term goals, an explanation of how goals will be integrated into 
existing national security apparatuses, and, if needed, suggest 
legislative and regulatory changes to better fight against TCOs.
  This legislation passed the House Committee on Financial Services 
with unanimous support in January, and it is my hope that it passes 
with unanimous support today on the House floor.
  Mr. Speaker, in addition to Congressman Kustoff, I thank Chairman 
Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters for their hard work on this issue. 
Together we can, in a bipartisan way, empower our government to better 
fight transnational criminal organizations, making the American people 
safer and our economy stronger.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 4768, the National 
Strategy for Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal 
Organizations Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, if ever there is a time for Democrats and Republicans to 
come together in a bipartisan fashion, it would be around this issue, 
around an issue to combat the financing of transnational criminal 
organizations. That is what H.R. 4768 would do. Specifically, it would 
require the Secretary of the Treasury to lead the effort, in 
consultation with other key agencies and departments, and update the 
strategy to fight these organizations at least every 2 years.
  Additionally, the legislation requires the administration to assess 
the key threats, financial support networks, and methods used by 
criminal groups to launder the proceeds of illicit activities. In 
passing this legislation, we will not only build upon but also cement 
the importance of the interagency approach taken by the prior 
administration in combating the impact of global criminal enterprises.
  Indeed, in 2010, the Obama administration conducted a comprehensive 
assessment of organized crime, the first such review that had taken 
place since the mid-1990s. The assessment came to the alarming 
conclusion that the threat of global criminal networks had become more 
complex, volatile, and destabilizing and that such groups were 
proliferating, striking new and powerful alliances, and engaging in a 
growing range of illicit activities such as we have never seen before.
  To combat this growing threat and lessen its impact both domestically 
and on our foreign partners, the Obama administration, in 2011, issued 
a comprehensive interagency strategy that identified 56 priority 
actions across five strategic objectives. One of these key objectives 
included breaking the economic power of transnational criminal networks 
and protecting strategic markets and the U.S. financial system from 
penetration and abuse by transnational organized crime. This strategic 
objective, in particular, resonates with me, as I have always believed 
strongly that following the money and using our economic leverage is 
the best way to counter illicit activity. This is especially true in 
countering transnational criminal organizations, whose primary 
objective is economic gain.
  In a number of ways, this legislation before us will ensure that the 
Treasury, as well as the intelligence and broader U.S. national 
security apparatus, remains focused on some of the emerging threats 
posed by transnational organized crime groups; including, kleptocrats, 
human traffickers, drug traffickers, and cybercriminals.
  Additionally, the legislation explicitly requires the administration 
to examine how such groups exploit the use of shell companies, misuse 
digital currencies and other cyber technologies.
  I am also pleased that, with the concurrence of the chairman and the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff), the committee agreed to adopt 
an amendment offered by Ranking Member Waters that sharpens the bill's 
focus on the methods by which transnational organized crime groups 
launder illicit funds using real estate and other tangible goods, such 
as art and antiquities. These significant vulnerabilities have been 
identified as major threats to our national security and the integrity 
of our financial system by a broad range of bipartisan experts, 
including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Financial 
Action Task Force.
  For example, just last year, FinCEN noted in a public advisory that: 
``Real estate transactions and the real estate market have certain 
characteristics that make them vulnerable to abuse by illicit actors. . 
. . For these reasons and others, drug traffickers, corrupt officials, 
and other criminals can and have used real estate to conceal the 
existence and origins of their illicit funds.''
  The entities and individuals that have sought to exploit real estate 
to conceal illicit funds includes Iranian banks subject to U.S. 
sanctions, Russian oligarchs and Russian-organized crime rings, as well 
as Venezuelan officials found to be engaged in narcotics trafficking.

  The fact that these vulnerabilities are not merely theoretical and 
have been used by a wide range of criminal groups should disturb all of 
us. We also know that money laundering through the global art and 
antiquities market is another key method for washing illicit funds, and 
that is undoubtedly being exploited by well-organized transnational 
criminal groups. Indeed, we know that the looting and trafficking in 
cultural heritage is a source of revenue that has funded ISIS' heinous 
activities, and we know that the opaque characteristics of the high-end 
art market and its lack of basic anti-money-laundering requirements 
make it a target for illicit funds.
  So I am pleased that the members of this committee were able to agree 
that real estate and art market vulnerabilities should be given due 
consideration when it comes to transnational organized crime. Again, 
this is one of those

[[Page H1397]]

subjects around which bipartisanship should be assumed.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join in this bipartisan effort and 
to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff), a member of the House Financial Services 
Committee and a former United States Attorney from the Western District 
of Tennessee, who has brought considerable prosecutorial experience in 
drafting and authoring this legislation.
  Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the National 
Strategy for Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal 
Organizations Act.
  On February 9 of 2017, last year, President Trump issued an executive 
order directing the Federal Government to combat international drug 
trafficking. Now, before I go any further, I want to take note that 
this executive order was issued in the third week of the Trump 
administration. This early action gives us an idea of how seriously we 
must take this issue. The executive order recognizes that illegal drugs 
are pouring into our country and they are threatening American safety, 
primarily at the hands of cartels and other transnational criminal 
organizations.
  These criminal organizations are responsible, in large part, for the 
rising opioid epidemic sweeping across our Nation. Take my district of 
west Tennessee, where we continue to see a rise in the deaths caused by 
opioid overdoses. From heroin to fentanyl, and the more potent 
synthetic opioid known as carfentanil, we must continue to use every 
available resource to prevent the further destruction of our 
communities. We have got to say enough is enough.
  The important legislation that we are discussing today will create a 
plan to track illicit money channels and cut them off at the source. 
Specifically, it directs the United States Treasury Department to 
develop a national strategy aimed at disrupting these financial crimes. 
The Treasury Department will work hand in hand with the Department of 
Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of 
Justice, the State Department, and the Office of the Director of 
National Intelligence to produce a yearly report outlining a strategy 
and detailing ways that the United States Government can continue to 
prevent these financial crimes.
  For far too long, these criminal organizations have used illicit 
business ventures to further finance their activities, which range from 
money laundering and cybercrime to the trafficking of drugs, human 
trafficking, weapons trafficking, and trafficking in endangered 
species.
  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that these 
cartel and transnational criminal organizations generate nearly $870 
billion a year. This money is used to directly threaten the security 
and the prosperity of the United States of America and other countries 
in the Western Hemisphere. Our legislation is a critical step in 
disrupting this illicit finance and putting an end to the needless 
crimes committed by cartels.
  As we have seen, these organizations have evolved in a continued 
effort to evade law enforcement. Therefore, in an effort to stay one 
step ahead of these bad actors, we have also got to evolve. These 
transnational organizations have developed interstate networks to and 
from the border in which drugs come up from Central America and the 
cash returns back to the country of origin. We simply cannot stand idly 
by as these activities continue. We must keep money out of the hands of 
those who intend to cause harm to our Nation.
  I think this legislation does exactly that. I greatly appreciate the 
hard work done by my colleagues from the Financial Services Committee 
on this very important legislation. I urge all my colleagues to support 
its passage.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Arizona (Ms. Sinema), a cosponsor of this legislation and a 
distinguished member of the Financial Services Committee.
  Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4768, the National 
Strategy for Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal 
Organizations Act.
  Mr. Speaker, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration's 
Phoenix division, the Sinaloa cartel is the biggest, most violent, and 
nastiest organization threatening Arizonans, even bigger than MS-13. It 
is a dangerous and highly sophisticated organization. Sinaloa smuggles 
heroin and methamphetamine across the border into Arizona and, with it, 
a pattern of crime, intimidation, and addiction that rips at the very 
fabric of our communities.
  Arizonans know we need to be tough, smart, and aggressive to confront 
Sinaloa and other cartels. Our bill cracks down on the drug cartels and 
other international crime syndicates that threaten Arizona families and 
our quality of life by hitting them where it hurts: their bank 
accounts.
  Drug cartels like Sinaloa obtain wealth and power through money 
laundering; cybercrime; and human, drugs, and weapons smuggling. To 
stop the drug cartels and protect Arizona families, we need a 
comprehensive approach to cut off the money that fuels their 
operations.

                              {time}  1430

  That is why Congressman Kustoff from Tennessee and I introduced H.R. 
4768. This bill requires the administration to develop and execute a 
strategy that cuts off funding and other resources for transnational 
criminal organizations and to routinely report to Congress and the 
American people on the strategy's progress.
  Our bill is a commonsense solution that protects Arizona families, 
communities, and businesses from the threats of transnational organized 
crime.
  By focusing on the money, we take a meaningful step in combating 
cybercrime, money laundering, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, 
as well as other issues that transnational criminals bring to our 
communities.
  I thank Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters for supporting 
this important legislation, and I will continue working with my 
colleagues across the aisle to keep Arizona families safe.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus), the vice chairman of the Financial Services 
Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Barr for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for the National 
Strategy for Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal 
Organizations Act. I want to thank my colleague Representative Kustoff 
for his work on this important issue.
  The Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance has been examining 
global criminal organizations and the threat they pose to the United 
States financial system.
  These sophisticated and dangerous organizations, like drug cartels, 
increasingly pose a direct threat to the safety and security of all 
Americans. They have fueled the opioid crisis that continues to kill 
tens of thousands of Americans each year, including the spread of human 
trafficking, among a host of other illicit activities.
  I want to remind my colleagues that entire communities are still 
plagued by this crisis, including hard-hit communities in western 
Pennsylvania.
  Beyond the opioid crisis, though, I want to highlight an 
exceptionally dangerous situation in which the United States finds 
itself.
  Some of the cartels are now working directly with organizations like 
Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, as reflected in a recent Politico 
article. Fortunately, the new administration is taking a tougher stance 
now with the announcement of a newly created Hezbollah Financing and 
Narcoterrorism Team.
  Mr. Speaker, it is about time America fought back against this 
growing international threat, and this bill will help ensure the 
government has a strategy to stay in this fight. Lives depend on it.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North

[[Page H1398]]

Carolina (Mr. Budd), a member of the Financial Services Committee.
  Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of Mr. 
Kustoff's bill, the National Strategy for Combating the Financing of 
Transnational Criminal Organizations Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend for his leadership on this 
important issue, even if it does have a really, really long name.
  I have seen firsthand how these transnational drug cartels can 
disrupt civil society. In my own district, the opioid epidemic has 
destroyed innocent people's lives, including kids, while transnational 
criminal organizations, or TCOs, profit on people's misery and their 
death.
  TCOs have brought heroin to our streets and, along with it, increased 
crime, placing additional burdens on law enforcement in local 
communities.
  We are in crisis mode, and targeted steps need to be taken to address 
this epidemic at all phases. We have to crack down on the pusher on the 
street. We have to crack down on the drug cartels. We have to crack 
down on the drug companies that have made a profit from 
overprescription and filling suspect orders.
  Most of all, we have to crack down on the intricate faceless and 
unbelievably complex international criminal organizations that allow 
the profits from these activities into our economy.
  We must eradicate the international illicit financing networks that 
are the linchpin of any criminal organization's operations. But we 
don't have a unified national plan.
  Luckily, this committee has an opportunity to make a difference by 
coming up with a national strategy and plan to attack transnational 
criminal organizations' finances.
  Mr. Kustoff's bill would direct the Secretary of the Treasury to 
provide that plan, a vital first step towards addressing the threat 
posed by the growing sophistication of illicit financing networks.
  Passing this bill is a significant step toward an effective, 
sustained national strategy to attack the funding that makes these TCOs 
possible.
  Therefore, it is critical that we continue to maximize cooperation 
among Federal departments to keep our policies ahead of these 
transnational criminals.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of Mr. Kustoff's timely and important 
piece of legislation.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Gaetz).
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I 
also thank the gentleman from Tennessee for introducing this 
responsible legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to circumstances where this 
administration will have additional tools to deal with transnational 
criminal organizations, and I hope that we will use those tools to 
counter the threat posed by Hezbollah.

  Hezbollah is not a political party. It is not a quaint reflection of 
history. It is a web of terrorists and criminals, and that web extends 
here to our hemisphere.
  In fact, in 2009, there was an arrest made in Philadelphia, where 
Hezbollah operatives were looking to move 1,200 machine guns into 
Syria.
  More recent arrests have been made in Latin America, where countries 
like Argentina, Peru, and Paraguay are dealing with an enhanced 
Hezbollah presence.
  This important legislation will help us build a plan to leverage our 
allies, to leverage the Organization of American States and other 
assets so that we recognize the threat that Hezbollah and other 
terrorist organizations pose and so that we meet that threat head-on.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, obviously, as I said, we need a national 
strategy to combat the financing of transnational criminal 
organizations.
  This legislation requires that such a strategy be put together. It is 
an issue that crosses virtually every partisan or ideological line. It 
is an example of legislation that we all can embrace and should 
support.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to do so, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I, once again, thank my colleagues for supporting this legislation. 
In particular, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff) for 
his leadership on this issue.
  I would note, also, in addition to all of the many sound and 
persuasive arguments that have been offered for why we need this 
legislation, this National Strategy for Combating the Financing of 
Transnational Criminal Organizations Act, the National Fraternal Order 
of Police has endorsed this legislation, and I include in the Record 
their letter.

                                                National Fraternal


                                              Order of Police,

                                Washington, DC, February 15, 2018.
     Hon. Paul D. Ryan,
     Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington, 
         DC.
     Hon. Kevin O. McCarthy,
     Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Nancy P. Pelosi,
     Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Steny H. Hoyer,
     Minority Whip, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker and Representatives McCarthy, Pelosi, and 
     Hoyer: I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal 
     Order of Police to advise you of our support for H.R. 4768, 
     the ``National Strategy for Combatting the Financing of 
     Transnational Criminal Organizations Act.''
       The Office of National Drug Control Policy was established 
     to set out our strategy in combatting our nation's drug 
     problem. Similarly, the Office of Community Oriented Policing 
     Services has served as the cornerstone for our nation's 
     crime-fighting efforts for more than two decades. With the 
     growing threat posed by transnational criminal organizations, 
     it is important that we adopt a comprehensive national 
     approach.
       President Donald J. Trump took the first step by issuing 
     Executive Order #13773, the Enforcing Federal Law with 
     Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and 
     Preventing International Trafficking a year ago. The Threat 
     Mitigation Working Group was set up to bring Federal agencies 
     together a common goal of investigating, prosecuting and 
     dismantling transnational gangs.
       This bill would codify part of this Executive Order by 
     developing a national strategy for combatting transnational 
     criminal organizations. We need to attack their ability to 
     profit from unlawful activity-whether it is money laundering, 
     bulk cash smuggling, shell companies or digital currencies. 
     Simply put, until we can stop the flow of criminal profits to 
     these organized, unlawful enterprises, they will continue to 
     survive no matter how many individuals we arrest and 
     prosecute.
       On behalf of the more than 335,000 members of the Fraternal 
     Order of Police, we believe this bill will make our country 
     safe from these transnational criminal organizations. If I 
     can provide any additional information, please do not 
     hesitate to contact me or my Senior Advisor, Jim Pasco, in my 
     Washington office.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Chuck Canterbury,
                                               National President.

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, as a Member of Congress representing a State 
that has been ravaged by heroin and opioid addiction, I can't think of 
a more important thing for this Congress to do than to develop a 
national strategy for combating these transnational gangs that are 
preying on our communities.
  Once again, I commend Mr. Kustoff for his leadership in this area and 
in this effort and in this fight. I applaud my colleagues for 
supporting the legislation on both sides of the aisle.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Palmer). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4768, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________