[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 214 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING ACT OF 2020

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, before joining with my colleagues in an 
important colloquy, concerning the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, I 
want to applaud Senator Grassley's tireless efforts that spanned years 
of bipartisan work to establish the first whistleblower reward program 
at the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network.
  Mr. Grassley. Mr. President, I would like to thank Chairman Crapo and 
Ranking Member Brown for their work on the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 
2020 division contained in this year's NDAA conference report, 
including the important new whistleblower protections provided in the 
measure. These whistleblower protections that all three of us agreed 
upon, were modelled after successful programs that were created through 
the Dodd Frank Act for the Securities and Exchange Commission and the 
Commodity's and Exchange Commission. One key feature that makes these 
programs successful is that whistleblowers are guaranteed a minimum of 
10 percent in awards for qualifying disclosures. These rewards cost 
taxpayers nothing because they are paid from fines and other monies 
collected as a result of the whistleblower's disclosures. To ensure 
whistleblowers always receive the money owed, both the SEC and CFTC, as 
well our original amendment to the NDAA, created a special fund that 
would be filled by the fines collected and then used to pay 
whistleblower awards. With that, I will be happy to begin the colloquy.
  Chairman Crapo, can you please describe your intent with respect to 
changes made in the whistleblower provisions in the conference 
agreement?
  Mr. CRAPO. Certainly. The NDAA conference agreement provides for 
whistleblower rewards with a 30 percent maximum of certain monies 
collected in cases involving Bank Secrecy Act violations, but provides 
for no explicit minimum award requirement.
  The conferees agreed that updating the Bank Secrecy Act's 
whistleblower incentives and protections was necessary to protect 
individuals who provide original information which leads to any 
successful judicial or administrative Bank Secrecy Act action brought 
by the Secretary of the Treasury or Attorney General and results in 
monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000.
  To accomplish this and to avoid any direct spending complications, 
our intention is to authorize necessary resources and work with 
appropriators and the administration to ensure that necessary funding 
be made available on an ongoing basis, that is effectively offset by 
BSA penalties imposed in these cases. Such funding will enable the 
Secretary to provide, subject to available funds, substantial 
whistleblower awards based upon monetary penalties recovered in those 
whistleblower cases.
  It was always the intent of the conferees that these awards to 
individual whistleblowers are important and justified and that they be 
substantial, such that both a minimum and maximum percentage of such 
monetary sanction was contemplated. In this case, it is the intent of 
the conferees, in addition to the conference report providing for the 
stated maximum 30 percent award, to provide for a 10 prcent minimum 
award, as both reasonable and sensible.
  Finally, it is the intent of the conferees that no such award should 
be made available to either employees of the Treasury Department, the 
Department of Justice, or covered law enforcement agencies, if the 
original information that led to the successful enforcement action is 
acquired acting in the normal course of their job duties.
  We will work with Senator Grassley and with administration officials 
to provide for robust minimum awards which meet the 10 percent 
threshold wherever appropriate. We will work with the Senator in the 
next Congress to draft legislation that addresses the important 
concerns he has raised.
  Does Senator Brown agree?
  Mr. BROWN. I agree and agree to work with Chairman Crapo and with his 
successor as Banking Committee chairman, with Senator Grassley, and 
with appropriate administration officials consistent with that intent. 
I share the desire to ensure that adequate funds are provided and agree 
that the best way to do so is through the creation of a fund that is to 
be used exclusively for the payment of whistleblower awards. Such a 
fund should also provide for awards of at least 10 percent of the funds 
in cases covered by the bill. I will work with Senator Grassley to make 
clear that this is our intent to administration officials.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I thank both for these clarifications of their intent. 
I look forward to working with them toward these ends.

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