[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H8127-H8128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     FINCEN IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2018

  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6411) to amend the duties of the Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to ensure FinCEN works with Tribal law 
enforcement agencies, protects against all forms of terrorism, and 
focuses on virtual currencies.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6411

       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 ``FinCEN Improvement Act of 
     2018''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) The mission of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 
     (FinCEN) is to safeguard the financial system from illicit 
     use and combat money laundering and promote national security 
     through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of 
     financial intelligence and strategic use of financial 
     authorities.
       (2) In its mission to safeguard the financial system from 
     the abuses of financial crime, including terrorist financing, 
     money laundering and other illicit activity, the United 
     States should prioritize working with partners in Federal, 
     State, local, Tribal, and foreign law enforcement 
     authorities.
       (3) The Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that 
     since the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, ``The threat 
     landscape has expanded considerably, though it is important 
     to note that the more traditional threat posed by al Qaeda 
     and its affiliates is still present and active. The threat of 
     domestic terrorism also remains persistent overall, with 
     actors crossing the line from First Amendment protected 
     rights to committing crimes to further their political 
     agenda.''.
       (4) Although the use and trading of virtual currencies are 
     legal practices, some terrorists and criminals, including 
     international criminal organizations, seek to exploit 
     vulnerabilities in the global financial system and are 
     increasingly using emerging payment methods such as virtual 
     currencies to move illicit funds.
       (5) In carrying out its mission, FinCEN should prioritize 
     all forms of terrorism and emerging methods of terrorism and 
     illicit finance.

     SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING FINCEN.

       Section 310 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (C)--
       (A) in clause (i), by striking ``appropriate Federal, 
     State, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies'' and 
     inserting ``appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
     foreign law enforcement agencies''; and
       (B) in clause (vi), by striking ``to protect against 
     international terrorism'' and inserting ``to protect against 
     terrorism'';
       (2) in paragraph (E), by striking ``appropriate Federal, 
     State, local, and foreign law enforcement authorities'' and 
     inserting ``appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
     foreign law enforcement authorities'';
       (3) in paragraph (F), by striking ``Federal, State, local, 
     and foreign law enforcement'' and inserting ``Federal, State, 
     local, Tribal, and foreign law enforcement''; and
       (4) in paragraph (H), by striking ``anti-terrorism and 
     anti-money laundering initiatives, and similar efforts'' and 
     inserting ``anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering 
     initiatives, including matters involving emerging 
     technologies or value that substitutes for currency, and 
     similar efforts''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. 
Perlmutter) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROTHFUS. 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 Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the FinCEN Improvement Act was introduced by 
Representative Ed Perlmutter, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on 
Terrorism and Illicit Finance, and cosponsored by Representative Steve 
Pearce, the chairman of this subcommittee.
  This would add Tribal law enforcement agencies to those partners with 
which the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network already works, which 
includes Federal, State, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies.
  The bill would clarify that FinCEN should protect against all forms 
of terrorism. FinCEN currently supports law enforcement on domestic 
issues, not just international, and this legislation would clarify that 
current practice. This bill would add an emphasis on emerging 
technologies or value that substitutes for currency in order to address 
the growing exploitation of digital currencies to move illicit funds.
  The financial technology, virtual currency, and electronic payments 
landscape is rapidly evolving to include means of storing and 
transferring value that didn't exist when previous laws and regulations 
were written. This bill emphasizes that FinCEN ought to prioritize 
cryptocurrencies to ensure that criminals and terrorists cannot use 
these technologies to carry out illicit financial activities.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. I thank my friend, Mr. Rothfus, for bringing this bill up 
today.

[[Page H8128]]

  Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of legislation I introduced with my 
colleague from New Mexico, Steve Pearce. H.R. 6411, the FinCEN 
Improvement Act, is a straightforward bill which will modernize the 
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, otherwise known as FinCEN.
  The mission of FinCEN is to safeguard the financial system from 
crimes or illicit use, combat money laundering, and promote national 
security through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of 
financial information and intelligence.
  In order to accomplish its mission, FinCEN needs to partner with all 
available law enforcement agencies to gather and share data needed to 
safeguard the financial system from the abuses of financial crime, 
including terrorist financing. This legislation builds upon the 
existing relationships with partners in foreign, Federal, State, and 
local law enforcement officials by ensuring FinCEN has the authority to 
work with Tribal law enforcement across the country.
  Additionally, FinCEN's current authorizing statute is limited to 
combating international terrorism, which leaves out domestic terrorist 
activities, which is just as important to protecting our neighborhoods 
and communities. This legislation fixes that oversight.
  Lastly, this legislation ensures FinCEN is focusing on emerging 
methods of financing illicit activity, including cryptocurrencies. As 
the ranking Democrat on the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee, 
along with Chairman Pearce, we have held numerous hearings and meetings 
discussing these new technologies. While they often have tremendous 
benefit to consumers in connecting the world, the reality is bad actors 
can benefit from this new technology by shielding their identities or 
the identities of those they work with. We need to work to understand 
this potential threat and find new ways to combat it.
  This bipartisan piece of legislation is an important step in 
modernizing FinCEN to ensure our law enforcement and intelligence 
communities work together to detect and stop criminals and terrorist 
networks. I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Rothfus, and certainly 
subcommittee Chairman Steve Pearce for working with me on this 
legislation. I would also like to thank the chairman and ranking member 
of the full committee for their support, and lastly, I thank Katy 
Strohmaier on the Democratic staff for working with my office to help 
us draft this legislation.
  With that, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation. I 
urge an ``aye'' vote on H.R. 6411, the FinCEN Improvement Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleague, Mr. 
Perlmutter, for his diligent work on this very practical, bipartisan 
bill. I urge my colleagues to support its adoption.
  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 Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6411.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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