[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3769-H3771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BANKING TRANSPARENCY FOR SANCTIONED PERSONS ACT OF 2019
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1037) to increase transparency with respect to financial
services benefitting state sponsors of terrorism, human rights abusers,
and corrupt officials, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1037
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 ``Banking Transparency for
Sanctioned Persons Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON FINANCIAL SERVICES BENEFITTING STATE
SPONSORS OF TERRORISM, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSERS,
AND CORRUPT OFFICIALS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall issue a report to the
Committees on Financial Services and Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives and the Committees on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations of the
Senate that includes--
(1) a copy of any license issued by the Secretary in the
preceding 180 days that authorizes a financial institution to
provide financial services benefitting a state sponsor of
terrorism; and
(2) a list of any foreign financial institutions that, in
the preceding 180 days, knowingly conducted a significant
transaction or transactions, directly or indirectly, for a
sanctioned person included on the Department of the
Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons
List who--
(A) is owned or controlled by, or acts on behalf of, the
government of a state sponsor of terrorism; or
(B) is designated pursuant to any of the following:
(i) Section 404 of the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik
Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of
2012 (Public Law 112-208).
(ii) Subtitle F of title XII of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328,
the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act).
(iii) Executive Order 13818.
(b) Form of Report.--The report required under subsection
(a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a
classified annex.
SEC. 3. WAIVER.
The Secretary of the Treasury may waive the requirements of
section 2 with respect to a foreign financial institution
described in paragraph (2) of such section--
(1) upon receiving credible assurances that the foreign
financial institution has ceased, or will imminently cease,
to knowingly conduct any significant transaction or
transactions, directly or indirectly, for a person described
in subparagraph (A) or (B) of such paragraph (2); or
(2) upon certifying to the Committees on Financial Services
and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Foreign
Relations of the Senate that the waiver is important to the
national interest of the United States, with an explanation
of the reasons therefor.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) Financial institution.--The term ``financial
institution'' means a United States financial institution or
a foreign financial institution.
(2) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign
financial institution'' has the meaning given that term under
section 561.308 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' with respect to
conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has
actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the
circumstance, or the result.
(4) United states financial institution.--The term ``United
States financial institution'' has the meaning given the term
``U.S. financial institution'' under section 561.309 of title
31, Code of Federal Regulations.
SEC. 5. SUNSET.
The reporting requirement under this Act shall terminate on
the date that is the end of the 7-year period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Member 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 support of H.R. 1037, the Banking Transparency
for Sanctioned Persons Act.
This legislation requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to
Congress every 6 months a list of the licenses that it issues to
financial institutions to provide services to countries and persons
subject to certain U.S. sanctions. It also provides Congress with
information about foreign financial firms that similarly provide
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support to those same countries and persons.
I support this bill because I believe its disclosure requirements
will serve as a useful oversight tool for Congress. Today, when the
Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, issues a license to a
company that allows them to engage in an activity that would otherwise
be prohibited by U.S. sanctions, OFAC does not disclose those licenses.
I support the bill's other reporting requirement related to foreign
financial firms. These lists of foreign financial institutions can
provide a useful basis for Congress to review the administration's
overall sanction strategy and to press the administration to impose
restrictions on these institutions to change their behavior.
When a nearly identical version of this bill was considered by the
Financial Services Committee last Congress, I supported the bill's
disclosure requirements, but I thought it would be counterproductive to
have the information revealed publicly.
For example, OFAC licenses often contain commercially sensitive
information. If companies could no longer expect licenses to remain
private, they would be less likely to apply for them, which would be
detrimental to humanitarian efforts.
I didn't think the public identification of these foreign financial
firms would serve a useful policy purpose and could otherwise move
legal activity into a shade of gray. For these reasons, a Democratic
amendment was adopted in committee by voice vote to allow for Congress
to review the lists confidentially.
I believe H.R. 1037, which includes this critical change from last
Congress, would increase congressional oversight of U.S. sanctions
activity appropriately, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to express my strong support for H.R. 1037, the Banking
Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act. The bill includes important
provisions to strengthen our national security, and it passed
unanimously last year in the full House.
I am pleased to see this legislation come to the floor under a new
sponsor, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Riggleman). Although he is in
his first term, Congressman Riggleman has already made significant
contributions to the committee's work. His leadership on this bill is a
case in point.
The gentleman's legislation would require the Treasury Department to
provide Congress with a copy of licenses that authorize financial
services for state sponsors of terrorism. These licenses are
essentially waivers, and while sanctions laws often require
congressional notification when formal waivers are issued, licenses can
fall through the cracks.
To be clear, some licenses may be desirable, such as those allowing
humanitarian relief or allowing for tailoring of sanctions in order to
better advance our policy goals. In other cases, however, Congress may
have legitimate concerns that a sanctioned entity is being licensed to
carry out transactions with U.S. persons, including our country's
financial institutions.
This bill simply ensures that Congress knows whether a license has
been issued, which will allow us to have better oversight of the
sanctions program.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, this bill requires Treasury to send
Congress semiannual reports that show which foreign financial
institutions are providing support for sanctioned terrorists, corrupt
officials, and human rights abusers. Although these bad actors are cut
off from American banks, we should know whether they are evading our
measures through the use of foreign entities. If Congress is made aware
of these relationships, we can work to close those loopholes.
Again, the unanimous support these policies have garnered previously
underscores their commonsense nature. Congressman Riggleman has spent
much of his career before Congress devoted to protecting our national
security, and his work on this bill, H.R. 1037, deserves our support.
I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Riggleman), the sponsor of the bill. He
has done great work here, and I will give him as much time as he may
consume.
Mr. RIGGLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1037, the
Banking Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act of 2019.
I thank the chairwoman of the committee, Ms. Waters, as well as
Ranking Member McHenry for their support and willingness to bring this
legislation to the House floor for a vote. I also thank my colleague
Josh Gottheimer for cosponsoring this legislation.
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to report on
financial services provided to a state sponsor of terrorism or
sanctioned person. This is a commonsense reporting requirement that
will further assist Congress in its oversight functions, including
financial sanctions against state sponsors of terrorism, human rights
abusers, and other bad actors targeted with certain U.S. sanctions.
This legislation is simple yet essential. It requires the Secretary
of the Treasury to submit to Congress every 180 days a report with two
sets of information: first, a list of the licenses it issues to
financial institutions to provide services to countries and persons
subject to certain U.S. sanctions, and this would include state
sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, North Korea, or Syria; second,
Treasury would have to provide a list of any foreign banks that conduct
significant transactions for persons that have been sanctioned for
human rights abuses or corruption. This report will support Congress by
ensuring that sanctions are being legally and appropriately applied
across the board.
The information in these reports will inform Congress about how
sanctioned states and individuals engage in financial transactions.
Additionally, the increased transparency will help us understand the
impacts of sanctions on targeted individuals.
With a clear idea of how certain foreign countries are undermining
U.S. efforts to combat corruption and human rights atrocities, we can
adjust our sanctions policies so they have the intended effects.
Finally, this bill will aid Congress and the executive branch to
tailor secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions, as well
as better determine how those sanctions should be effectively designed
and what the unintended consequences might be, if any should exist.
This will be a useful oversight tool and a powerful disclosure
requirement that can help Congress understand existing sanctions and
design a more effective program for the future.
Mr. Speaker, this bill unanimously passed the House in the 115th
Congress, and I invite all of my colleagues to join me today and pass
H.R. 1037.
Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bipartisan bill
that passed unanimously in committee and in the House last year.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1037, the Banking Transparency for Sanctioned
Persons Act of 2019, will help ensure that Members of Congress have the
information they need to provide more effective oversight of the
decisions made by Treasury and OFAC and the impact that those decisions
have on sanctioned persons.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Riggleman for bringing this bill forward,
and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece
of legislation.
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 pass the bill, H.R. 1037.
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.
[[Page H3771]]
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