[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2697-H2701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ACKNOWLEDGING LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS POSES A 
                      THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 206) acknowledging that the lack of sunlight and 
transparency in financial transactions and corporate formation poses a 
threat to our national security and our economy's security and 
supporting efforts to close related loopholes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 206

       Whereas money laundering and other financial crimes are 
     serious threats to our national and economic security;
       Whereas the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has 
     reported ``The estimated amount of money laundered globally 
     in one year is 2 - 5% of global GDP, or $800 billion - $2 
     trillion in current US dollars'';
       Whereas the scale, efficiency, and complexity of the U.S. 
     financial system make it a prime target for those who seek to 
     conceal, launder, and move the proceeds of illicit activity;
       Whereas money launderers, terrorist financiers, corrupt 
     individuals and organizations, and their facilitators have 
     proven to adapt quickly in order to avoid detection;
       Whereas given the global nature of money laundering and 
     terrorist financing, and the increasing interrelatedness 
     within the financial system, a secure national and 
     multilateral framework is essential to the integrity of the 
     U.S. financial system;
       Whereas extensive collaboration among financial regulators, 
     the Department of the Treasury, law enforcement, and the 
     private sector is required to curtail the illicit flow of 
     money throughout the United States;
       Whereas despite how extensive and effective these efforts 
     are in the United States, there is still substantial room for 
     improvement;
       Whereas financial compliance, reporting, investigation, and 
     collaboration, as well as courageous whistleblowers and 
     investigative reporting have had significant impact in 
     shining sunlight on the people and institutions behind dark 
     money and markets;
       Whereas in 2016, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), 
     the international standards setting body, evaluated the 
     United States' anti-money laundering/combating the financing 
     of terrorism measures and determined the United States has 
     significant gaps in its framework;
       Whereas in 2016, the FATF found that in the United States, 
     ``Minimal measures are imposed on designated non-financial 
     businesses and professions (DNFBPs), other than casinos and 
     dealers in precious metals and stones'';
       Whereas in 2016, the FATF recommended, ``The U.S. should 
     conduct a vulnerability analysis of the minimally covered 
     DNFBP sectors to address the higher risks to which these 
     sectors are exposed, and consider what measures could be 
     introduced to address them'';
       Whereas dealers in arts and antiquities are not, by 
     definition, covered ``financial institutions'' required to 
     comply with the Bank Secrecy Act;
       Whereas Federal authorities have cautioned that art 
     collectors and dealers to be particularly careful trading 
     Near Eastern antiquities, warning that artifacts plundered by 
     terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and 
     the Levant are entering the marketplace;
       Whereas, according to the Antiquities Coalition, ``because 
     the United States is the largest destination for 
     archaeological and ethnological objects from around the 
     world, the discovery of recently looted and trafficked 
     artifacts in our country not only makes Americans and our 
     institutions accessories to crimes, but also threatens our 
     relations with other countries'';
       Whereas the real-estate industry, both commercial and 
     residential, is exempt from having to develop and implement a 
     four-pillar anti-money laundering program pursuant to the 
     Bank Secrecy Act;
       Whereas it was asserted in a 2018 Conference Report by the 
     Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center at the 
     Schar School of Policy and Government of George Mason 
     University, money laundering in real estate (MLRE) has 
     damaging effects on local economies by negatively impacting 
     property prices and dislocating residents;
       Whereas in 2017, in response to evidence about significant 
     money laundering through real estate in the United States, 
     the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued 
     Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) requiring limited 
     beneficial ownership disclosure in certain transactions 
     involving high-end luxury real estate and ``found that about 
     30 percent of the transactions covered by the GTOs involve a 
     beneficial owner or purchaser representative that is also the 
     subject of a previous suspicious activity report'';
       Whereas the influx of illicit money, including from Russian 
     oligarchs, has flowed largely unimpeded into the United 
     States through these anonymous shell companies and into U.S. 
     investments, including luxury high-end real estate;
       Whereas the United States has not fulfilled the recommended 
     steps to address the money-laundering loopholes that the FATF 
     has identified with DNFBP sectors;
       Whereas high-profile enforcement actions against some of 
     the largest and most sophisticated financial institutions 
     raise troubling questions about the effectiveness of U.S. 
     domestic anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing 
     regulatory, compliance, and enforcement efforts;
       Whereas there are financial institutions and individuals 
     employed therein which continue to engage in egregious 
     violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and enter into deferred 
     prosecution agreements and non-prosecution agreements rather 
     than facing convictions and sentences corresponding to the 
     severity of their violations;
       Whereas effective anti-money laundering programs must 
     emphasize sound corporate governance, including business-line 
     accountability and clear lines of legal responsibility for 
     individuals; and
       Whereas anti-money laundering examinations in recent years 
     at times failed to recognize the cumulative effect of the 
     violations they cited, instead narrowly focusing their 
     attention on individual banking units, thus permitting 
     national banks to avoid and delay correcting problems, which 
     allowed massive problems to occur before serious enforcement 
     actions were taken: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) acknowledges that the lack of sunlight and transparency 
     in financial transactions poses a threat to our national 
     security and our economy's security;
       (2) supports efforts to close loopholes that allow 
     corruption, terrorism, and money laundering to infiltrate our 
     country's financial system;
       (3) encourages transparency to detect, deter, and interdict 
     individuals, entities, and networks engaged in money 
     laundering and other financial crimes;
       (4) urges financial institutions to comply with the Bank 
     Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering laws and regulations; 
     and
       (5) affirms that financial institutions and individuals 
     should be held accountable for money laundering and terror 
     financing crimes and violations.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
McHenry) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 206, a resolution I 
have introduced to inform the Congress and the American people about 
the persistent

[[Page H2698]]

money laundering loopholes and problems that continue to plague the 
American financial system.
  I am pleased to bring this resolution to the floor in recognition of 
Sunshine Week. As part of Sunshine Week, the Financial Services 
Committee is shining a bright light on money laundering and discussing 
ways to strengthen our country's anti-money laundering and 
counterterrorism finance efforts.
  Criminals like drug traffickers, human traffickers, fraudsters, 
kleptocrats, rogue governments, and other corrupt individuals and 
organizations know our financial system well and work hard to find ways 
to circumvent our anti-money laundering laws.
  Congress has enacted numerous laws to improve the transparency of 
financial transactions that touch institutions in the United States and 
those on each end of a financial transaction. We have created reporting 
mechanisms, strengthened law enforcement and intelligence capacities, 
and promoted responsible, privacy-protecting information regimes to 
ensure that both the industry and the government have the tools needed 
to rid the economy of these illicit funds. However, there are still 
glaring problems and loopholes in our system that Congress must 
address.
  The resolution that I have introduced highlights two significant 
loopholes that remain: the lack of transparency in, number one, the 
arts and antiquities industry and, number two, the real estate 
industry.
  First, we know that ethnic and cultural artifacts are stolen and 
traded to garner funds for bad actors. According to the Antiquities 
Coalition: ``The United States is the largest destination for 
archeological and ethnological objects from around the world.'' We 
know, too, that terror groups like ISIS have looted and sold these 
treasures to fund their operations, which the head of UNESCO, the 
United Nations' cultural heritage agency, said was worth millions of 
dollars and conducted on an ``industrial scale.'' However, today, 
dealers in arts and antiquities are exempt from the Bank Secrecy Act, 
creating a huge loophole for bad actors to launder funds.
  Second, the significance of the real estate loophole in the United 
States was acknowledged in 2017 by the Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, FinCEN, when it issued Geographic Targeting Orders, GTOs, 
requiring limited ownership information to be disclosed and reported in 
some high-end real estate transactions. In fact, FinCEN has noted that 
``about 30 percent of the transactions covered by the GTOs involve a 
beneficial owner or purchaser representative that is also the subject 
of a previous suspicious activity report.''
  The movement of illicit funds throughout the global financial system 
raises numerous questions regarding the actors who are involved in 
these money laundering schemes and where the money is going. This is 
precisely why the Financial Services Committee is investigating the 
questionable financing provided to President Trump and The Trump 
Organization by banks like Deutsche Bank to finance its real estate 
properties. The committee is also concerned that Trump-branded and 
managed condo buildings, for example, have taken millions from suspect 
Russians or individuals from former Soviet states through cash 
transactions, some well above the market value and many through shell 
companies.
  Congress must close these loopholes, and financial institutions, 
including the biggest banks, also must do their part and fully comply 
with our BSA/AML laws. Although most do, we can continue to see not 
only failures in compliance, but also egregious acts where money 
laundering and terror finance are facilitated.
  Further, many of our largest financial institutions have facilitated 
money laundering through our U.S. financial system from abroad. One 
scheme was carried out in Deutsche Bank's Moscow and London branches 
using mirror trading, in which corrupt traders in Russia managed to 
move $10 billion in illicit funds out of Russia by buying blue chip 
stocks in rubles and selling them for U.S. dollars in London. Deutsche 
Bank was fined nearly $630 million for allowing this mirror trading 
scheme to take place.
  Another scheme involved Danske Bank, wherein $230 billion in 
suspicious funds moved from Russia and other former Soviet states 
through one of Danske Bank's small Estonian branches to several U.S. 
financial institutions.
  We also know that real estate is frequently used to launder dirty 
money. Bad actors like Russian oligarchs and kleptocrats often use 
anonymous shell companies and all-cash schemes to buy and sell 
commercial and residential real estate to hide and clean their money.
  Today, these all-cash schemes are exempt from the Bank Secrecy Act. 
This must stop. In passing this resolution today, we also remind our 
colleagues in the banking industry of their responsibilities.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, this resolution has benefited from the 
comments of the ranking member of the Financial Services Committee, Mr. 
McHenry, and other members of the committee, and I thank them for their 
thoughtful consideration of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution 
that recognizes the need to close these loopholes and to urge financial 
institutions to comply with the law.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Waters of the House Financial 
Services Committee for offering this resolution.
  I rise in support of this resolution, and I look forward to working 
with the gentlewoman from California to incorporate its basic 
principles into future legislation produced by our committee to tackle 
the illicit drug trade, international financing that moves around the 
globe that is illicit in nature, as well as combating human trafficking 
and using the financial system to traffic in human beings, which I 
think is absolutely abhorrent.
  This resolution reflects the Financial Services Committee's 
longstanding emphasis that we have on protecting our national security 
and ensuring the integrity of the financial system. The size and scope 
of that system, along with the preeminent role of the U.S. dollar in 
global trade, requires us to remain vigilant against illicit finance, 
money laundering, and other significant threats.
  Already this Congress, the House has passed several of our 
committee's bills designed to identify new risks in illicit finance and 
to strengthen our banks' cooperation with law enforcement authorities. 
We are also looking forward to addressing a more comprehensive reform 
of processes under the Bank Secrecy Act in order to crack down on money 
laundering much more effectively.
  We believe technology can be a great driver of those reforms and more 
efficiently and effectively enforce those laws. We are working together 
to achieve that bipartisan outcome and update to that very important 
piece of legislation. This, I think, represents a down payment, 
rhetorically, on that interest that we have of combating illicit 
finance wherever it may be.
  I hope that we can continue to engage in a meaningful way in that 
bipartisan dialogue to achieve reforms to the Bank Secrecy Act, with 
the understanding it is important to safeguard our national security, 
while upholding a financial system that is open, transparent, and 
efficient and that is, in many ways, the envy of the rest of the world, 
without unduly burdening businesses in a manner that ends up turning 
away legitimate trade and commerce. Striking that balance is obviously 
that fine art that this Congress seeks to do, and we hope to do that 
well coming out of our committee.
  Now, Republicans and Democrats should also be able to agree that 
these laws and regulations require us to strike a balance. That has to 
be a stated objective, and I am hopeful that the chairwoman will 
continue to work with us based on that principle. I am encouraged by 
that opportunity on the Bank Secrecy Act and Illicit Finance for us to 
tackle those items.
  I thank the chairwoman for sponsoring this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I 
ask my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H2699]]

  


                              {time}  1315

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr.   David Scott), who is a senior member of the Financial 
Services Committee.
  Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this is a very important and 
timely resolution because, in recent years, the lack of sunlight and 
transparency in financial transactions and corporate formation has 
brought us to the forefront of the very dangerous role that dark money 
plays in our financial system.
  Money laundering; loopholes in markets like real estate, the arts, 
and antiquities can be taken advantage of by criminals who facilitate 
their nefarious deeds. And, Mr. Speaker, according to the Financial 
Action Task Force, real estate alone accounted for one-third of all the 
criminal assets confiscated worldwide between 2011 and 2013, in that 3-
year period.
  Even more concerning, Mr. Speaker, is this: some of these 
transactions are conducted by anonymous shell companies who are 
exploiting loopholes in our financial system, creating a lack of 
transparency for who really is the beneficial owner of the assets.
  This is very important, Mr. Speaker.
  This critical resolution offered by my colleague and chairwoman, Ms. 
Maxine Waters, recognizes how important this issue is not only to the 
stability of our financial system but to the national security of our 
great Nation.
  It urges that much more be done with these loopholes and lets us 
shine a bright light into the darkest corners of our financial system.
  That is why, Mr. Speaker, I rise to encourage my colleagues to 
support this resolution that will protect our financial system from 
abuse and corruption. I am hopeful that it will be unanimous, with all 
of our colleagues supporting this important resolution.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Gooden), my colleague and a new member of the House 
Financial Services Committee, for the purposes of a statement.
  Mr. GOODEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 206, 
legislation that acknowledges the grave threat that terrorist 
organizations and international drug cartels pose to our Nation's 
financial system and economic system.
  Introduced in the Financial Services Committee, this resolution 
reaffirms that the House of Representatives supports efforts currently 
under way in American and international financial institutions to 
identify bad actors and hold them accountable for their crimes.
  The stakes couldn't be higher. Just as financial transparency has 
already helped us combat weapons of mass destruction, traffickers, 
corrupt foreign actors, and terrorist financiers, it also serves as a 
powerful weapon against organized criminal networks.
  When criminals like El Chapo seek to exploit a complex and 
interconnected financial system, we must seek to untangle and bring 
clarity.
  As we enhance financial transparency, we diminish a criminal's 
ability to commit crimes. In fact, I would consider this an important 
part of President Trump's efforts to secure our borders from those who 
are actively trying to infiltrate our country to finance drug 
trafficking and other criminal or terrorist activities.
  Just as we need to build the wall at our southern border to keep out 
drug cartels and gangs, we need to be securing our economy from those 
who use the United States to conceal, launder, and move money generated 
from illegal activity.
  Given the global nature of money laundering and terrorist financing, 
a secure national and multilateral framework is essential to the 
integrity of our financial system here at home.
  Simply put, we should be doing all that we can to give financial 
institutions the tools they need to catch those who support the drug 
cartels that infiltrate our southern border or illegally engage in 
money laundering and terrorism financing.
  For those reasons, I support this resolution and would like to thank 
the ranking member and Chairwoman Waters for the time this afternoon.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Green), the chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations on the Financial Services Committee.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join the chorus of 
persons who are complimenting the chairwoman for many jobs well done. 
This, of course, is just another of the many wonderful things that she 
is doing to help people across the globe.
  Mr. Speaker, I support H. Res. 206 because it addresses the 
launderability of money at the foundation of criminality.
  When it comes to arts and antiquities, according to an Art Basel 
report by UBS, the United States remains the largest art market, valued 
at $26.6 billion, and it accounts for 42 percent of the global total in 
2017.
  This means, of course, that the United States is likely to be the 
largest destination for stolen ethnic and cultural arts--black market, 
black market art, black market money. That is why we have to find a way 
to prevent the laundering of this money.
  The United States of America should not allow ourselves to be the 
financier for those who perpetrate dastardly deeds in many countries 
around the world. An example might be Syria, where you have terrorists 
who will take stolen artifacts, find a way to put them into commerce, 
and use that money to support terrorist activities.
  That is not what we are about. We must find a way to close the 
loopholes that allow persons in this country to purchase these 
artifacts and allow that money to get back to those who would perform 
these dastardly deeds. I call them dastards. That is with a ``D,'' 
dastards.
  These dastards must be stopped. This resolution is a great step in 
the right direction to prevent the perpetration and perpetuation of 
this activity.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch), a longtime member of the Financial Services 
Committee.

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from 
California for her leadership on this issue and also for yielding me 
this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 206, a resolution 
that acknowledges the threat to our national security posed by 
loopholes in our financial transaction laws.
  Today, our anti-money laundering and antiterrorism finance laws are 
dangerously outdated. Billions of dollars in bribes are paid around the 
world every year, and the amount of money laundered globally is 
estimated to be 2 to 5 percent of global GDP. Far too much of this cash 
flow comes through the United States financial institutions.
  The international community agrees. The Financial Action Task Force--
the global standard-setting body--has said that we have significant 
gaps in our security laws.
  By passing this resolution, Congress can show it understands that 
illicit financing networks are the root and branch of any terrorist or 
criminal organization's operations.
  We can also show that we understand by addressing those gaps and 
loopholes in our laws. We can move toward a safer society and a safer 
world.
  Money laundering and other financial crimes support human 
trafficking, terrorism, and corruption around the world. These crimes 
endanger Americans every day, and we need to do more.
  I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support 
H. Res. 206. I want to thank the chairwoman, again, for her kindness.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to note for the House that the original draft of 
this resolution that was put forward and made public by committee 
Democrats was not one that committee Republicans had vetted. And, in 
that conversation, we had revised the text of this resolution.
  So, out there today is the original text Chairwoman Waters had 
offered. She undertook, through her staff and through my staff, and we 
worked out the changes, so the language here is something that should 
receive unanimous approval of the House of Representatives.
  In fact, it states some very important things that we find important 
in

[[Page H2700]]

the House Financial Services Committee.
  Now, if there is illicit financing and our laws are not detecting it, 
that is a problem, is it not? And we should address that problem, 
however it manifests itself.
  And we have two examples here, using artwork and using real estate; 
but we also would use money in order to possess that artwork, that real 
estate. So we want to make sure that we are getting at that money, that 
flow, within our financial markets and getting at that.
  There is bipartisan agreement, and the language here is not the 
original language Chairwoman Waters offered and maybe, perhaps, the one 
that she would want to pass. But, in her effort at bipartisanship, she 
worked with committee Republicans, changed the resolution, and now 
before us we have a new resolution.
  This new resolution should meet the approval of everyone in this 
House.
  I want to state that very clearly. This is not a Democrat product. 
Actually, it is because Chairwoman Waters did author it, but she was 
willing to hear our feedback on the Republican side. That is helpful.
  What this would be is the fifth bill that we have passed out of the 
House Financial Services Committee that has received bipartisan 
support. That is a good sign. That is a good sign, in a broken 
Washington, that we can actually do some sensible things.
  And outlined here, this resolution got out of, really, prescriptive 
positions that we are still negotiating on on this idea of beneficial 
ownership, which our colleague, Subcommittee Chair Maloney, has been 
working on intensely, as have French Hill from Arkansas and Blaine 
Luetkemeyer from Missouri on the Republican side.
  And they are still working through the contents of that, and we are 
still not in agreement. So we removed that language, and I think that 
is a very hopeful thing.
  I didn't really want to get into the mechanics of how we came to 
this, but I think it is important for the House to note that that work 
has been done. Before us is a new resolution that should be able to 
meet the support of the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to finish by saying this, that Chairwoman Waters 
said she would work with us on this; she worked with us on this. I am 
grateful for that.
  Recognizing that there are more Democrats than Republicans in the 
House, the gentlewoman could have passed this resolution if she saw 
fit, on a partisan basis, but she thought it was important to actually 
have a bipartisan outcome so we can have bipartisan legislating 
following this.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I cannot describe how pleased I am working 
with Mr. McHenry and the way that he has expressed to you in his 
presentation how we have worked together, and I thank him for that. I 
am very appreciative of that, and I will continue to work on those 
issues that the gentleman alluded to.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. 
Carolyn B. Maloney), the chair of the Subcommittee on Investor 
Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the 
chairwoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this very important resolution.
  For too long, criminals and terrorists have used our financial system 
to launder their dirty money and to hide all of their assets.
  This issue is incredibly important to me because I have been working 
on legislation to crack down on anonymous shell companies for about 10 
years, and Chairwoman Waters has always been a strong supporter and is, 
in fact, an original cosponsor of my legislation.

  So I want to highlight one particular passage from this resolution 
which talks about the pilot program that FinCEN conducted in 2016 where 
they collected beneficial ownership information in certain real estate 
transactions in Manhattan and Miami.
  The findings from the pilot program were shocking. They found that 
about 30 percent of the transactions involved a beneficial owner that 
had previously been the subject of a suspicious activity report from a 
bank, which strongly suggests that criminals and other bad actors are 
using anonymous shell companies to launder or hide money.
  Requiring companies to disclose their beneficial owners would provide 
transparency to law enforcement. It would also protect Americans from 
terrorism financing by cracking down on the ability of terrorists to 
get financing in our country. And it would also help financial 
institutions keep the bad actors out of the financial system.
  That is why I have been working so hard to pass my beneficial 
ownership bill, and I look forward to continuing to work in a 
bipartisan way with Ranking Member McHenry and others to address this 
important issue.
  I must say that this issue was brought to me by law enforcement, and 
they told me they will be tracking money that they think is terrorism 
financing. They hit an LLC; they cannot get any more information about 
who owns this real estate or company in our country. We have to stop 
that.
  So I strongly urge support for the chairwoman's resolution, and I 
urge my colleagues to support it as well and to support the bipartisan 
beneficial ownership bill which will shortly be on the floor.

                              {time}  1330

  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to reiterate that what my colleague, Mrs. Maloney, the chair 
of the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and 
Capital Markets outlined, outlined is an ongoing conversation we are 
having on her piece of legislation around beneficial ownership. We are 
still working through that process. I think the talks have been 
productive, but there is a lot of work to do. There is not quite 
consensus yet on how we achieve that right balance.
  Notwithstanding that, you have to look at the contents of the 
resolution before us. I think this is, while not perfect--if I had 
drafted the resolution, I would have also included the international 
drug trade and human trafficking as two highly important areas that 
need our attention and focus as policymakers. But that is a sin of 
omission rather than commission.
  I would also target a broader set of regimes. ISIS is targeted in 
this, and I think that is strong. We have bipartisan agreement that we 
have to fight this terrorism network and evil ideology that they have 
put upon the world, and how they act out in this, and we have to have a 
concerted effort, as Americans, in a bipartisan way, to fight them.
  I would also add to that the regimes in China, Russia, and North 
Korea as other state actors that are doing really horrible things in 
terms of cyber threats, but also through money laundering--not just a 
regime, but there are a lot of regimes around the world.
  So this is not a complete resolution, but I think it is worthy of our 
support. I think this is a first step in that longer conversation about 
modernizing the Bank Secrecy Act and making sure that we are targeting 
illicit financing.
  I ask my colleagues to vote for this resolution, and I look forward 
to continuing the conversation with my Democratic colleagues on more 
bipartisan outcomes.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I include in the Record the following letter of general support for 
H. Res. 206 from the Fraternal Order of Police.

                                                National Fraternal


                                     Order of Police

                                   Washington, DC, March 13, 2019.
     Hon. Maxine M. Waters,
     Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Emanuel Cleaver II,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security, International 
         Development and Monetary Policy, Committee on Financial 
         Services, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Patrick T. McHenry,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Financial Services, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Steven E. Stivers,
     Ranking Member, Subcommittee on National Security, 
         International Development and Monetary Policy, Committee 
         on Financial Services, House of Representatives, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Madam Chairman, Mr. Chairman and Representatives 
     McHenry and Stivers: I am writing on behalf of the members of 
     the Fraternal Order of Police to advise you of our continued 
     support for the collection of beneficial ownership 
     information to

[[Page H2701]]

     combat terrorist financing, money laundering and other 
     criminal activities. We strongly agree with many of the 
     points raised in H. Res 206 as they pertain to the collection 
     of this information and we look forward to working with the 
     Committee on Financial Services and the Subcommittee on 
     National Security, International Development and Monetary 
     Policy to address these issues, in the months ahead.
       For years, the FOP has supported the collection of 
     beneficial ownership information and we've been proud to 
     partner with Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and 
     Peter T. King (R-NY) on legislation entitled the ``Corporate 
     Transparency Act `` A discussion draft sharing that same 
     title is being considered by the committee today and the FOP 
     is once again prepared to support this important legislation.
       Transnational criminal organizations and terrorist 
     operations are using our banks, financial institutions and 
     other means to profit from their illegal activity This is a 
     well-documented problem for our financial institutions and 
     for law enforcement as we work together to shut down these 
     sophisticated criminal enterprises.
       Congress and this committee have played a leadership role 
     in identifying the problem and working with law enforcement 
     to develop legislation like the ``Corporation Transparency 
     Act.'' In addition, this Administration also agrees with this 
     approach--last July U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. 
     Mnuchin testified before this committee and stated that there 
     is a real need to ``have access to beneficial ownership 
     information for law enforcement and for combating terrorist 
     financing.''
       The Secretary's remarks were very clear that this is a 
     pressing issue and the vulnerability of our financial 
     institutions poses a genuine threat to public safety and 
     national security. Under current laws, shell corporations may 
     be used as front organizations by criminals conducting 
     illegal activity such as money laundering, fraud, and tax 
     evasion. Legislation like the ``Corporation Transparency 
     Act'' and other measures identified in H. Res. 206, propose 
     to combat this misuse of U.S. corporations by requiring the 
     U.S. Department of the Treasury, specifically the Financial 
     Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), to collect beneficial 
     ownership information for corporations and limited liability 
     companies formed under State laws unless the State is already 
     collecting this information. It is vital that such 
     information, once collected, be available to law enforcement 
     at every level--local, State, tribal and Federal--upon a 
     lawful request. The sharing of this information will help 
     speed the ability of law enforcement to investigate any 
     possible connection between these corporations and terrorist 
     funding.
       All too often, investigations will hit a dead end when we 
     encounter a company with hidden ownership. Just as robbers or 
     burglars wear masks to hide their faces and make identifying 
     them more difficult; the criminals we are chasing in these 
     cases use shell corporations as masks, concealing themselves 
     while still profiting from their crimes. When we are able to 
     expose the link between shell companies and drug trafficking, 
     corruption, organized crime and terrorist finance, law 
     enforcement will be able to bring these criminals to justice 
     and make our citizens and our nation safer.
       We would also like to raise our concerns about proposals 
     that would increase the monetary threshold for filing 
     Currency Transaction Reports and Suspicious Activity Reports, 
     thereby reducing the information law enforcement currently 
     receives. It is not clear what policy or public safety aim 
     such a change is intended to accomplish. Organized criminal 
     enterprises are already aware of the current thresholds and 
     often take steps to avoid triggering these alerts and 
     bringing scrutiny to their operations. Increasing these 
     thresholds may negatively impact law enforcement and 
     investigations into money laundering and other financial 
     crimes.
       On behalf of the more than 345,000 members of the Fraternal 
     Order of Police, I want to thank this committee for its 
     leadership on this issue and most of all, for its willingness 
     to engage and work with the law enforcement community on the 
     collection of beneficial ownership information. By working 
     together, I believe we can make our financial system and our 
     nation safer from criminal and terrorist organizations. If I 
     can provide any additional information on this matter, please 
     do not hesitate to contact me or my Executive Director, Jim 
     Pasco, in my Washington office.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Chuck Canterbury,
                                               National President.

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, as we join together during this Sunshine 
Week to highlight the importance of transparency in our economy and our 
national security, and the preservation of our rule of law, we cannot 
ignore the insidious harm that is being done by institutions like 
Deutsche Bank, Danske Bank, and others that facilitate money laundering 
and financial crime.
  Kleptocracy and corruption around the world and here at home, as the 
Trump family and its companies have proven, can only thrive with the 
cooperation or willful blindness from financial institutions that move, 
hide, and launder their ill-gotten money, money that can come in and 
out of the financial system through investments in real estate, art, 
and other luxury markets across America.
  I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle would agree that we 
need to close loopholes that allow criminals and terrorists to hide 
from sunlight and scrutiny, and I urge the House to support H. Res. 
206, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 206, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: 
``Acknowledging that the lack of sunlight and transparency in financial 
transactions poses a threat to our national security and our economy's 
security and supporting efforts to close related loopholes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________