[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2630-S2632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 481. Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. King) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 
2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military 
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and 
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe 
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of division A, add the following:

          TITLE XVIII--COMBATING CROSS-BORDER FINANCIAL CRIME

     SEC. 1801. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Combating Cross-border 
     Financial Crime Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 1802. ESTABLISHMENT OF CROSS-BORDER FINANCIAL CRIME 
                   CENTER.

       The Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304 et seq.) is amended 
     by inserting after section 631 (19 U.S.C. 1631) the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 632. ESTABLISHMENT OF CROSS-BORDER FINANCIAL CRIME 
                   CENTER.

       ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, 
     acting through the Executive Associate Director of Homeland 
     Security Investigations, shall--
       ``(1) establish the Cross-Border Financial Crime Center (in 
     this section referred to as the `Center'), which shall be 
     located in the National Capital region (as defined in section 
     8702 of title 40, United States Code); and
       ``(2) appoint a Director to serve as the head of the Center 
     (in this section referred to as the `Director').
       ``(b) Duties.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Center shall--
       ``(A) support, through the provision of analysts, 
     equipment, and other resources, the investigation and seizure 
     of assets and proceeds (as defined in section 981 of title 
     18, United States Code) related to trade-based money 
     laundering and other illicit cross-border financial activity 
     or attempted illicit cross-border financial activity, to, 
     from, or through the United States, including such activity 
     conducted by actors determined by the Secretary of State, the 
     Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the 
     Secretary of Homeland Security to be the highest priority 
     threats, including--
       ``(i) transnational criminal organizations;
       ``(ii) kleptocrats and oligarchs with respect to whom the 
     United States has imposed sanctions;
       ``(iii) professional money laundering organizations; and
       ``(iv) persons knowingly enabling criminal or corrupt 
     activity, including designated non-financial businesses and 
     professions;
       ``(B) coordinate with the Deputy Directors appointed under 
     subsection (c) and the heads of other relevant Federal 
     agencies to better ensure uniform training is provided to 
     United States Federal, State, local, and Tribal law 
     enforcement agencies and foreign law enforcement agencies to 
     address the vulnerabilities outlined in the National Money 
     Laundering Risk Assessment, published by the Department of 
     the Treasury in February 2022, or any successor document;
       ``(C) coordinate with such agencies to develop metrics to 
     assess whether the training described in subparagraph (B) 
     improved enforcement of anti-money laundering laws;
       ``(D) leverage existing, lawfully obtained, government data 
     sources to establish a means to receive, collect, track, 
     analyze, and deconflict information regarding illicit cross-
     border financial activity from United States and foreign law 
     enforcement agencies and other non-Federal sources;
       ``(E) coordinate with the Deputy Directors appointed under 
     subsection (c) and relevant components of their agencies, 
     including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, to 
     disseminate information, on a rolling basis, regarding trends 
     and techniques involved in illicit cross-border financial 
     activity to other Federal agencies, private sector 
     stakeholders, and foreign law enforcement partners, as 
     appropriate;
       ``(F) coordinate with the offices of United States 
     attorneys in order to develop expertise in, and assist with, 
     the investigation and prosecution of crimes involving trade-
     based money laundering and other illicit cross-border 
     financial activity; and
       ``(G) carry out such other duties as the Executive 
     Associate Director may assign.
       ``(2) Supplement not supplant.--The duties described in 
     paragraph (1) shall supplement, not supplant, the work of 
     existing Federal agencies, task forces, and working groups.
       ``(c) Deputy Directors.--The Attorney General, the 
     Secretary of the Treasury (acting through the Director of the 
     Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), and the Secretary of 
     State shall each appoint a Deputy Director to assist the 
     Director.
       ``(d) Coordination With Other Agencies.--
       ``(1) In general.--In carrying out the duties described in 
     subsection (b), the Director shall coordinate with the 
     Federal entities specified in paragraph (2), and to the 
     extent practicable, with the State, local, and Tribal 
     entities specified in paragraph (3) to ensure at least part-
     time representation, in the form of detailees, in the Center 
     of at least one agent or analyst with expertise in countering 
     cross-border illicit finance, including trade-based money 
     laundering, from each such entity.
       ``(2) Federal entities specified.--The Federal entities 
     specified in this paragraph are the following:
       ``(A) The Department of the Treasury and the following 
     components of the Department:
       ``(i) The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
       ``(ii) The Office of Foreign Assets Control.
       ``(iii) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
       ``(iv) The Office of Technical Assistance.
       ``(v) Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
       ``(vi) The Small Business/Self Employed Division of the 
     Internal Revenue Service.
       ``(B) The Department of Justice and the following 
     components of the Department:
       ``(i) The Criminal Division.
       ``(ii) The Drug Enforcement Administration.
       ``(iii) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
       ``(iv) Task Force KleptoCapture.
       ``(C) The Department of State and the following components 
     of the Department:
       ``(i) The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law 
     Enforcement Affairs.
       ``(ii) The Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
       ``(iii) The Bureau of African Affairs.
       ``(iv) The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
       ``(v) The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
       ``(vi) The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
       ``(vii) The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.
       ``(viii) The Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
       ``(ix) The Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
       ``(D) The following components of the Department of 
     Homeland Security:
       ``(i) U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
       ``(ii) The United States Secret Service.
       ``(iii) The National Intellectual Property Rights 
     Coordination Center.
       ``(iv) The Trade Transparency Units program of U.S. 
     Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
       ``(v) The Bulk Cash Smuggling Center of U.S. Immigration 
     and Customs Enforcement.
       ``(vi) The Cyber Crimes Center of Homeland Security 
     Investigations.
       ``(E) The National Security Agency.
       ``(F) The United States Postal Inspection Service.
       ``(G) The Department of Commerce.
       ``(H) The Department of Defense.
       ``(I) The Office of the United States Trade Representative.
       ``(J) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
       ``(K) The Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
       ``(L) The Securities and Exchange Commission.
       ``(M) The Federal Trade Commission.
       ``(N) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
       ``(O) The National Credit Union Administration.
       ``(3) State, local, and tribal entities specified.--The 
     State, local, and Tribal entities specified in this paragraph 
     are the following:
       ``(A) Any State bank supervisor (as that term is defined in 
     section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 
     1813)) that the Executive Associate Director considers 
     appropriate.
       ``(B) Any State credit union supervisor (as that term is 
     used in the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1751 et 
     seq.)) that the Executive Associate Director considers 
     appropriate.
       ``(C) Any State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agency 
     that the Executive Associate Director considers appropriate.
       ``(4) Supplement not supplant.--The coordination described 
     in paragraph (1) shall supplement, not supplant, the work of 
     existing Federal agencies, task forces, and working groups.
       ``(e) Private Sector Outreach.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Director, in coordination with the 
     Deputy Directors appointed under subsection (c) by the 
     Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 
     work with the Federal entities specified in subsection (d)(2) 
     to conduct outreach to private sector entities in the United 
     States in order to exchange information, in real-time or as 
     soon as practicable, with respect to tactics and trends being 
     used to conduct illicit cross-border financial activity, 
     including such activity that involves corruption, 
     international commercial trade and counterfeit products, bulk 
     cash smuggling, the illicit use of digital assets or digital 
     currencies and the dark web, and financial institutions and 
     designated nonfinancial businesses and professions.
       ``(2) Training and technical assistance.--In order to 
     coordinate public and private sector efforts to combat the 
     tactics and trends described in paragraph (1), the Director, 
     in coordination with the Deputy Directors appointed under 
     subsection (c) by the Attorney General and the Secretary of 
     the Treasury,

[[Page S2631]]

     shall provide training and technical assistance, as 
     appropriate, regarding best practices for--
       ``(A) identifying, reporting, and protecting against money 
     laundering; and
       ``(B) maintaining sensitive financial information, which 
     may include suspicious activity reports and currency 
     transaction reports.
       ``(3) Supplement not supplant.--The activities described in 
     paragraphs (1) and (2) shall supplement, not supplant, the 
     work of existing Federal agencies, task forces, and working 
     groups.
       ``(f) International Outreach.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting through 
     the Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics 
     and Law Enforcement Affairs, shall coordinate with the 
     Director of the Center and the Deputy Directors of the Center 
     appointed under subsection (c) by the Attorney General and 
     the Secretary of the Treasury to facilitate capacity building 
     and perform outreach to law enforcement agencies of countries 
     that are partners of the United States and foreign private 
     industry stakeholders by developing and providing specialized 
     training and information-sharing opportunities regarding 
     illicit cross-border financial activity, including such 
     activity that involves corruption, international commercial 
     trade and counterfeit products, bulk cash smuggling, the 
     illicit use of digital assets or digital currencies and the 
     dark web, and financial institutions and designated 
     nonfinancial businesses and professions.
       ``(2) Coordination.--In carrying out paragraph (1) in a 
     country, the Secretary of State, acting through the Assistant 
     Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law 
     Enforcement Affairs, and in coordination with the Director of 
     the Center and the Deputy Directors of the Center appointed 
     under subsection (c) by the Attorney General and the 
     Secretary of the Treasury, shall establish and maintain 
     relationships with--
       ``(A) officials from law enforcement agencies, regulatory 
     authorities, customs authorities, financial intelligence 
     units, and ministries of finance in that country; and
       ``(B) private industry stakeholders in that country, 
     including commercial and financial industry stakeholders most 
     commonly impacted by illicit cross-border financial activity.
       ``(3) Supplement not supplant.--The activities described in 
     paragraph (1) shall supplement, not supplant, international 
     training conducted by other Federal agencies.
       ``(4) Information sharing.--To the extent practicable and 
     consistent with other provisions of law, the Secretary of 
     State, acting through the Assistant Secretary of State for 
     International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, shall 
     work with the Director and, as appropriate, the Deputy 
     Directors appointed under subsection (c), to strengthen 
     international cooperation and information-sharing agreements 
     with law enforcement agencies of countries that are partners 
     of the United States regarding combating illicit cross-border 
     financial activity, including through the enhancement and 
     expansion of Trade Transparency Units under section 633.
       ``(g) Report Required.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not less frequently than annually, the 
     Director shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a report detailing the latest trends and 
     techniques utilized to facilitate illicit cross-border 
     financial activity.
       ``(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
     include--
       ``(A) an assessment of the training provided to United 
     States and foreign law enforcement agencies under subsection 
     (b)(1)(B), based upon the metrics developed under subsection 
     (b)(1)(C);
       ``(B) a summary of the activities conducted pursuant to 
     subsections (d), (e), and (f);
       ``(C) the number and status of investigations supported by 
     the Center, unless the disclosure of such information would 
     reveal information protected by rule 6(e) of the Federal 
     Rules of Criminal Procedure or a court order;
       ``(D) the amount of money and other assets of value in 
     various forms that the United States Government seized as a 
     result of such investigations; and
       ``(E) the countries with which the Center has established 
     information-sharing agreements.
       ``(3) Form.--Each report required by paragraph (1) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form, but may include information 
     that is classified or law enforcement sensitive in an annex.
       ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     to the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish and 
     maintain the Center--
       ``(A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and
       ``(B) such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 
     years 2025 through 2029.
       ``(2) Prohibition on use of funds.--None of the funds 
     authorized to be appropriated pursuant to the authorization 
     of appropriations under paragraph (1) may be obligated or 
     expended to carry out civil immigration enforcement or 
     removal activities.
       ``(i) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     `appropriate congressional committees' means--
       ``(A) the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, the 
     Committee on Finance, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
     Urban Affairs, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
     Senate; and
       ``(B) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
     House of Representatives.
       ``(2) Trade-based money laundering.--The term `trade-based 
     money laundering' means the process of disguising the 
     proceeds of crime by moving such proceeds through the use of 
     trade transactions in an attempt to legitimize the illegal 
     origin of such proceeds or to finance criminal activities.
       ``(3) United states.--The term `United States' means the 
     several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, and any 
     federally recognized tribe (as defined in section 4(3)(B) of 
     the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination 
     Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103(13)(B)).''.

     SEC. 1803. TRADE TRANSPARENCY UNITS PROGRAM.

       The Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304 et seq.), as amended 
     by section 1802, is further amended by inserting after 
     section 632 the following:

     ``SEC. 633. TRADE TRANSPARENCY UNITS PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of Homeland 
     Security, acting through the Executive Associate Director of 
     Homeland Security Investigations, shall establish a program 
     under which Trade Transparency Units are established with 
     foreign countries.
       ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of Trade Transparency Units 
     are--
       ``(1) to combat transnational criminal organizations, 
     kleptocrats and oligarchs with respect to whom the United 
     States has imposed sanctions, professional money laundering 
     organizations, and other criminal or corrupt actors or 
     enablers of criminal or corrupt activity; and
       ``(2) to prevent such persons from exploiting the 
     international trade and financial infrastructures to finance 
     criminal acts, evade sanctions or export controls, evade 
     taxes, tariffs, or customs duties, or launder criminal or 
     corrupt proceeds, by--
       ``(A) developing relationships with foreign law enforcement 
     agencies and customs authorities; and
       ``(B) working through the Department of State to strengthen 
     international cooperation and facilitate information-sharing 
     agreements with foreign countries that provide for the 
     exchange of import and export data with agencies of those 
     countries, and as appropriate, other United States agencies, 
     which can be used to investigate and prosecute international 
     money laundering and illicit trade cases.
       ``(c) Establishment and Composition of Units.--
       ``(1) Establishment of units.--The Executive Associate 
     Director, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may 
     establish Trade Transparency Units in--
       ``(A) countries in which money laundering is prevalent;
       ``(B) countries in which corruption is prevalent;
       ``(C) countries that conduct a high volume of trade with 
     the United States;
       ``(D) countries that have inconsistent trade figures or 
     high incidences of illicit trade;
       ``(E) trade corridors in which one country that has a 
     currency restriction in place;
       ``(F) countries that have been identified as having 
     substantial volumes of suspicious financial transactions, 
     based on data obtained under subchapter II of chapter 53 of 
     title 31, United States Code; or
       ``(G) countries for which the Executive Associate Director, 
     in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines that 
     a Trade Transparency Unit would support the purposes of the 
     Trade Transparency Units program under this section.
       ``(2) Requirements.--
       ``(A) In general.--Before establishing a Trade Transparency 
     Unit in a country after the date of the enactment of the 
     Combating Cross-border Financial Crime Act of 2023, the 
     Executive Associate Director shall--
       ``(i) ensure the United States and the government of the 
     country have an active Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement in 
     place;
       ``(ii) conduct a risk-based assessment to determine whether 
     the country meets the criteria described in any of 
     subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (1); and
       ``(iii) work with the United States embassy in the country 
     to establish a trade data exchange agreement or memorandum of 
     understanding with the government of the country that 
     includes, to the greatest extent practicable, language to 
     provide for the sharing of foreign import and export data 
     with relevant United States agencies.
       ``(B) Transition rule.--The requirements under subparagraph 
     (A) do not apply with respect to a Trade Transparency Unit 
     established before the date of the enactment of the Combating 
     Cross-border Financial Crime Act of 2023.
       ``(3) Composition.--A Trade Transparency Unit may be 
     comprised of personnel from--
       ``(A) Homeland Security Investigations;
       ``(B) other Federal agencies, as appropriate; and
       ``(C) foreign law enforcement agencies, as appropriate and 
     pursuant to a trade data exchange agreement or memorandum of 
     understanding described in paragraph (2)(C).
       ``(d) Operation.--After a trade data exchange agreement or 
     memorandum of understanding described in subsection 
     (c)(2)(A)(iii)

[[Page S2632]]

     is signed with a country, the Executive Associate Director, 
     in consultation with the Secretary of State, may assign 
     Homeland Security Investigations criminal investigators to 
     the country to provide training and technical assistance to 
     the country in order to operationalize and maintain a Trade 
     Transparency Unit in that country.
       ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     to the Secretary of Homeland Security $4,100,000 for each of 
     fiscal years 2024 through 2029 to establish and maintain 
     Trade Transparency Units.
       ``(2) Prohibition on use of funds.--None of the funds 
     authorized to be appropriated pursuant to the authorization 
     of appropriations under paragraph (1) may be obligated or 
     expended to carry out civil immigration enforcement or 
     removal activities.''.

     SEC. 1804. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW OF 
                   BARRIERS TO HARMONIZING DATA SYSTEMS OF CERTAIN 
                   LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
     United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a report detailing the statutory, technical, and 
     security barriers to harmonizing the data systems of relevant 
     law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, 
     Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the 
     United States Secret Service, the Diplomatic Security 
     Service, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and U.S. 
     Customs and Border Protection, to improve data access 
     necessary to facilitate trade-based money laundering 
     investigations.
       (b) Assessment of New Technologies.--The report required by 
     subsection (a) shall include an assessment of the benefits 
     and feasibility of integrating new technologies, including 
     distributed ledger technology and quantum ledger technology, 
     into the processes of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 
     the customs services of foreign jurisdictions with which the 
     United States has trade agreements in effect in order to 
     facilitate the immediate, secure, and complete transfer 
     between jurisdictions of lists of goods and related invoices 
     and bills of lading.
       (c) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, the 
     Committee on Finance, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
     Urban Affairs, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
     Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (2) Trade-based money laundering.--The term ``trade-based 
     money laundering'' means the process of disguising the 
     proceeds of crime by moving such proceeds through the use of 
     trade transactions in an attempt to legitimize the illegal 
     origin of such proceeds or to finance criminal activities.
                                 ______