[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 106 (Monday, June 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5589-H5590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FIGHT ILLICIT NETWORKS AND DETECT TRAFFICKING ACT

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 6069) to require the Comptroller General of the United States to 
carry out a study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are 
used to buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services 
associated with sex trafficking or drug trafficking, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6069

       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 ``Fight Illicit Networks and 
     Detect Trafficking Act'' or the ``FIND Trafficking Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 
     2017 National Drug Threat Assessment, transnational criminal 
     organizations are increasingly using virtual currencies.
       (2) The Treasury Department has recognized that: ``The 
     development of virtual currencies is an attempt to meet a 
     legitimate market demand. According to a Federal Reserve Bank 
     of Chicago economist, U.S. consumers want payment options 
     that are versatile and that provide immediate finality. No 
     U.S. payment method meets that description, although cash may 
     come closest. Virtual currencies can mimic cash's immediate 
     finality and anonymity and are more versatile than cash for 
     online and cross-border transactions, making virtual 
     currencies vulnerable for illicit transactions.''.
       (3) Virtual currencies have become a prominent method to 
     pay for goods and services associated with illegal sex 
     trafficking and drug trafficking, which are two of the most 
     detrimental and troubling illegal activities facilitated by 
     online marketplaces.
       (4) Online marketplaces, including the darkweb, have become 
     a prominent platform to buy, sell, and advertise for illicit 
     goods and services associated with sex trafficking and drug 
     trafficking.
       (5) According to the International Labour Organization, in 
     2016, 4.8 million people in the world were victims of forced 
     sexual exploitation, and in 2014, the global profit from 
     commercial sexual exploitation was $99 billion.
       (6) In 2016, within the United States, the Center for 
     Disease Control estimated that there were 64,000 deaths 
     related to drug overdose, and the most severe increase in 
     drug overdoses were those associated with fentanyl and 
     fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids), which amounted to over 
     20,000 overdose deaths.
       (7) According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury 2015 
     National Money Laundering Risk Assessment, an estimated $64 
     billion is generated annually from U.S. drug trafficking 
     sales.
       (8) Illegal fentanyl in the United States originates 
     primarily from China, and it is readily available to purchase 
     through online marketplaces.

     SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.

       (a) Study Required.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall conduct a study on how virtual currencies and 
     online marketplaces are used to facilitate sex and drug 
     trafficking. The study shall consider--
       (1) how online marketplaces, including the darkweb, are 
     being used as platforms to buy, sell, or facilitate the 
     financing of goods or services associated with sex 
     trafficking or drug trafficking (specifically, opioids and 
     synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and 
     any precursor chemicals associated with manufacturing 
     fentanyl or fentanyl analogs) destined for, originating from, 
     or within the United States;
       (2) how financial payment methods, including virtual 
     currencies and peer-to-peer mobile payment services, are 
     being utilized by online marketplaces to facilitate the 
     buying, selling, or financing of goods and services 
     associated with sex or drug trafficking destined for, 
     originating from, or within the United States;
       (3) how virtual currencies are being used to facilitate the 
     buying, selling, or financing of goods and services 
     associated with sex or drug trafficking, destined for, 
     originating from, or within the United States, when an online 
     platform is not otherwise involved;
       (4) how illicit funds that have been transmitted online and 
     through virtual currencies are repatriated into the formal 
     banking system of the United States through money laundering 
     or other means;
       (5) the participants (state and non-state actors) 
     throughout the entire supply chain that participate in or 
     benefit from the buying, selling, or financing of goods and 
     services associated with sex or drug trafficking (either 
     through online marketplaces or virtual currencies) destined 
     for, originating from, or within the United States;
       (6) Federal and State agency efforts to impede the buying, 
     selling, or financing of goods and services associated with 
     sex or drug trafficking destined for, originating from, or 
     within the United States, including efforts to prevent the 
     proceeds from sex or drug trafficking from entering the 
     United States banking system;
       (7) how virtual currencies and their underlying 
     technologies can be used to detect and deter these illicit 
     activities; and
       (8) to what extent can the immutable and traceable nature 
     of virtual currencies contribute to the tracking and 
     prosecution of illicit funding.
       (b) Scope.--For the purposes of the study required under 
     subsection (a), the term ``sex trafficking'' means the 
     recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, 
     patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a 
     commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud, or 
     coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act 
     has not attained 18 years of age.
       (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
     United States shall submit to the Committee on Banking, 
     Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Financial Services of the House of Representatives a report 
     summarizing the results of the study required under 
     subsection (a), together with any recommendations for 
     legislative or regulatory action that would improve the 
     efforts of Federal agencies to impede the use of virtual 
     currencies and online marketplaces in facilitating sex and 
     drug trafficking.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HILL. 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 the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend from California, Juan 
Vargas, and my colleague from Pennsylvania, Keith Rothfus, for their 
work together to cosponsor H.R. 6069, the Fight Illicit Networks and 
Detect Trafficking Act.
  This is extremely important, and it is in keeping with the work that 
we have been doing in our subcommittee on terror finance, illicit 
financing, and also the work we have done on this House floor about 
stopping human trafficking that we see in this country and, also, the 
intensive work in the last 2 weeks on opioid legislation in trying to 
stop these kinds of drugs coming into our country.
  This legislation would require the Government Accounting Office, the 
GAO, to study and report to Congress on how online marketplaces, 
including those on the dark web, are used as platforms to facilitate 
the financing of goods associated with drug trafficking or sex 
trafficking.
  They would study payment methods, including virtual currencies and 
peer-to-peer payment services, that are also being used in drug and sex 
trafficking online; illicit funds that have been transmitted online and 
how virtual currencies are reintegrated into the U.S. financial system; 
and finally, Mr. Speaker, the study would have the participants of sex 
trafficking or drug trafficking trade online that benefit from the 
trade.
  Although virtual currencies can be used for legal purchases, they 
have become a common financial payment method for criminals.
  Online marketplaces, including the dark web, have become a prominent 
platform to buy, sell, and advertise for illicit goods and services 
associated with sex trafficking and drug trafficking.
  According to the International Labor Organization, in 2016, 4.8 
million people in the world were victims of forced sexual exploitation, 
and in 2014, the global profit from commercial sexual exploitation was 
$99 billion.
  According to the U.S. Treasury's 2015 National Money Laundering Risk 
Assessment, an estimated $64 billion is

[[Page H5590]]

generated from U.S. drug trafficking operations.
  Illegal fentanyl in the United States originates primarily from China 
and is readily available to purchase through online marketplaces. 
Certainly, all of my colleagues have heard extensively, over the last 2 
weeks, the stunning horrors of how fentanyl has entered our 
marketplace, with one estimate that, just last year alone, enough came 
across our borders in this country to kill half the U.S. population.
  According to the DEA, in 2017, the National Drug Threat Assessment, 
transnational criminal organizations are increasingly using virtual 
currencies. This bill will allow Congress to fully understand the 
extent to which virtual currencies are being used to facilitate drug 
and sex trafficking.
  The bill will also study how virtual currencies can be used to detect 
and deter illicit activities and propose legislative solutions to fight 
these crimes.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Vargas), a respected, active member of 
the Financial Services Committee.
  Mr. VARGAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to 
support H.R. 6069, the Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking 
Act, FIND.
  Allow me first to thank Chairman Hensarling for his leadership and 
also Ranking Member Waters for her leadership, and also for their 
support of this legislation.
  I would also like to thank my good friend, Mr. French Hill. I thank 
him for his kind words and for his support of this bill.
  I especially would like to thank Mr. Rothfus for his leadership on 
the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee and for generously 
agreeing to colead this commonsense, narrowly tailored legislation.
  As you may know, a virtual currency is a digital representation of 
value that can be digitally traded. Since the creation of bitcoin, the 
first and most widely known example of cryptocurrency, thousands of 
cryptocurrencies have emerged and are designed to serve a variety of 
purses.
  Some forms of virtual currency provide a digital alternative to cash 
that lacks the oversight of a government or central bank and, 
potentially, offers greater anonymity than conventional payment 
systems.
  Just as virtual currencies have grown in use in legitimate commerce, 
they have also become an increasingly popular financial payment method 
for criminals. Virtual currencies have been and continue to be 
exploited to pay for goods and services associated with illicit illegal 
sex and drug trafficking. These are two of the most detrimental and 
troubling illegal activities sold online.
  According to the DEA 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment, 
transnational criminal organizations are increasingly using virtual 
currencies due to their ease of use and the anonymity they provide.

                              {time}  1545

  While evidence points to the growth of virtual currencies as a 
payment method for illicit sex and drug trafficking, the true scope of 
the problem and the potential solutions have not been fully 
established.
  According to the International Labour Organization, in 2016, 4.8 
million people in the world were victims of forced sexual exploitation, 
and in 2014, the global profit from commercial sexual exploitation was 
$99 billion.
  Unfortunately, virtual currencies are also being used as a payment 
method for transnational drug traffickers.
  As you may know all too well, the United States is struggling to 
combat the rising number of lives cut short by the tragic use of 
opioids. As was stated earlier by my good friend Mr. Hill, in 2016 
alone, the CDC estimated that there were 64,000 deaths--64,000 deaths--
in the U.S. related to drug overdose.
  The most severe increases in drug overdoses were those associated 
with fentanyl and also fentanyl analogs. Fentanyl is an extremely 
deadly opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. 
Fentanyl is being illicitly manufactured in China and Mexico, with most 
of the illegal fentanyl in the United States originating from China, 
and it is readily available to purchase through the online 
marketplaces.
  If we are to craft effective regulatory and legislative solutions to 
combat these transnational criminal organizations, we need to fully 
study and analyze how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are 
used to facilitate sex and drug trafficking to determine how to best 
eliminate their use.
  H.R. 6069, the FIND Trafficking Act of 2018, requires the Comptroller 
General of the United States to: one, carry out a study on how virtual 
currencies and online marketplaces are used to facilitate sex or drug 
trafficking; and, two, make recommendations to Congress on legislative 
and regulatory actions that would impede the use of virtual currencies 
and online marketplaces in facilitating sex and drug trafficking.
  It is my sincere hope that this bill is the first step toward 
crafting bipartisan legislation to impede and eventually eliminate the 
use of virtual currencies by transnational criminal organizations that 
facilitate drug and sex trafficking.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I again 
thank both my colleagues here for their kind words about this bill and 
the bipartisanship that we have had on this bill.
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, for the bipartisan work on this bill, I want 
to again thank Mr. Rothfus and my good friend Mr. Vargas. You can see 
that he has the heart of a Jesuit and the mind of a Harvard lawyer.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 6069, 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.

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