[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H9063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





       IMPROVING STRATEGIES TO COUNTER WEAPONS PROLIFERATION ACT

  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6332) to require the Director of the Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network to submit a report to Congress on the way in which 
data collected pursuant to title 31 is being used, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6332

       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 ``Improving Strategies to 
     Counter Weapons Proliferation Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINANCIAL CRIMES ENFORCEMENT NETWORK REPORTING 
                   REQUIREMENT.

       Section 310 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Reports Relating to Use of Collected Data.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this subsection and every year thereafter, the 
     Director shall submit to the Committee on Financial Services 
     of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 
     Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report on--
       ``(A) intelligence products created by FinCEN on finance 
     transactions for the proliferation of weapons from filings 
     submitted pursuant to subchapter II of chapter 53;
       ``(B) FinCEN's efforts to collaborate with law enforcement 
     agencies, the intelligence community, and foreign financial 
     intelligence units to maximize the use of data that is 
     collected pursuant to subchapter II of chapter 53; and
       ``(C) advisory notices issued to financial institutions (as 
     defined under section 5312(a)) on financial activity related 
     to the proliferation of weapons.
       ``(2) Separate presentation of classified material.--Any 
     part of the report under paragraph (1) that involves 
     information that is properly classified under criteria 
     established by the President shall be submitted to the 
     Congress separately in a classified annex.
       ``(3) Sunset.--No report is required under this subsection 
     after the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date of 
     enactment of this subsection.''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. TIPTON. 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 materials on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the consideration of this important measure 
on the floor here today. The work of the Terrorism and Illicit Finance 
Subcommittee on Financial Services has uncovered time and again that 
the activities of terrorists and criminal organizations are powered 
through financing and that illicit operations cannot continue if the 
revenue streams that fund those operations are shut off.
  The measure before the House today would provide greater clarity into 
how exactly the global financial system can cut off financial schemes 
that enable access to illicit nuclear, chemical, and biological 
weapons.
  H.R. 6332, the Improving Strategies to Counter Weapons Proliferation 
Act, would study how our financial institutions, intelligence 
collecting agencies, and law enforcement share information regarding 
known weapons financing activities to better identify weapons financing 
schemes.
  To effectively prevent the spread of dangerous weapons into the hands 
of bad actors like terrorists, we must close the gaps that allow those 
bad actors to take advantage of the global financial system. The ever-
increasing number of threats posed by foreign adversaries and dangerous 
organizations make it all the more important to close those gaps now. 
By helping financial institutions and law enforcement better identify 
the signs of illicit proliferation financing through this bill, these 
institutions will be able to maximize the effectiveness of their 
information and more easily coordinate strategies that disrupt and 
ultimately prevent dangerous crime.
  In the United States, we have robust protections in place to be able 
to prevent financing of weapons proliferation involving suspicious 
activity reports that go to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 
and get reported over to law enforcement. By requiring FinCEN to report 
yearly to Congress on intelligence products it generates from 
suspicious activity filings on weapons finance transactions as well as 
how those intelligence products have informed law enforcement action, 
we can learn the indicators for proliferation finance and move to more 
effectively combat those illicit financial activities.
  The bill before the House of Representatives today is a good first 
step in making sure the financial institutions, law enforcement 
agencies, and Congress have the tools that they need to be able to 
combat financing for illicit weapons proliferation, and I urge its 
passage here today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIHUEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6332, the Improving Strategies 
to Counter Weapons Proliferation Act, which aims to better inform 
congressional oversight of FinCEN's counter-proliferation finance 
efforts.
  With proliferation threats growing from countries like North Korea 
and Iran, the reports prescribed by this bill will tell Congress more 
about the terrorist financing and anti-money laundering work that 
FinCEN is doing to combat the financing of the manufacture and delivery 
of weapons of mass destruction.
  This bill will require the director to report on the intelligence 
FinCEN generates from the Bank Secrecy Act filings on suspected 
proliferation finance transactions; the agency's efforts to maximize 
the use of collected data; and the advisory notices issued to financial 
institutions related to the financing of chemical, nuclear, and 
biological weapons.
  Prior to the Financial Services Committee vote, the ACLU expressed 
some concern, in part because the bill's report doesn't include details 
on the efficacy of FinCEN's data collection or its impact on privacy 
and civil liberties.

                              {time}  1815

  That said, I understand that the ACLU does not actively oppose the 
bill.
  Given the legislation is focused on how FinCEN uses the data it 
currently collects, it does not expand the data collection. I think 
that that bill is appropriately scoped, and I support it.
  Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I ask for a ``yes'' vote, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TIPTON. 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 Colorado (Mr. Tipton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6332.
  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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