[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 203 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H6753-H6754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FOREIGN AFFILIATES SHARING PILOT PROGRAM EXTENSION ACT

  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 5524) to amend the start date of the pilot program on 
sharing with foreign branches, subsidiaries and affiliates, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5524

       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 ``Foreign Affiliates Sharing 
     Pilot Program Extension Act''.

     SEC. 2. FOREIGN AFFILIATES SHARING PILOT PROGRAM.

       Section 5318(g)(8)(B)(iii) of title 31, United States Code, 
     is amended by striking ``3 years after the date of enactment 
     of this paragraph'' and inserting ``3 years after the date on 
     which the Secretary of the Treasury issues rules pursuant to 
     subparagraph (A)''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Nunn) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa.


                             General Leave

  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. 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 material on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Iowa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first established in the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the 
Foreign Affiliates Sharing Pilot Program allows financial institutions 
to share Suspicious Activity Reports and related information with the 
institution's foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates to help 
combat illicit finance risks.
  Sharing financial intelligence is the bedrock of thwarting 
terrorists' financial activity and the movement of dangerous drugs like 
fentanyl across our southern border here in the United States. It 
ensures that terrorists and

[[Page H6754]]

other criminals are not able to infiltrate the U.S. financial system.
  In October of this year, an unlicensed money transmitting business 
admitted in court that they are illegally helping to fund foreign 
gamblers laundering money through the U.S. financial system to avoid 
scrutiny or investigation by U.S. or foreign law enforcement.

                              {time}  1500

  From 2012 to 2020, the business helped move money through at least 15 
countries, including ones the State Department has identified as major 
money laundering countries like Mexico, Argentina, Switzerland, and the 
UAE.
  This is just one example of why it matters to have the opportunity to 
share intelligence collected from suspicious activity reports to catch 
illicit financing activity.
  Currently, this pilot program is nearing its 3-year completion mark 
without ever having been fully operational. The Foreign Affiliates 
Sharing Pilot Program Extension Act extends the termination date for 3 
years after the Treasury issues rules for the pilot program. This 
extension allows Congress to adequately assess whether to make the 
program a permanent solution.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Garcia, the gentlewoman from 
Texas, for her amazing work in supporting this important legislation. I 
urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense 
legislation to protect our national security.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 5524, the Foreign 
Affiliates Sharing Pilot Program Extension Act. In January 2021, 
Congress successfully overrode Trump's veto to pass the National 
Defense Authorization Act, also known as NDAA, which is our Nation's 
annual Defense bill. This included the enactment of the Anti-Money 
Laundering Act of 2020, the first significant change to America's anti-
money laundering and financial-based terrorism policy since 9/11.
  Our bipartisan goal in passing the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 
was to improve the deterrence and detection of financial crime by 
promoting innovation, regulatory reform, and industry engagement.
  In doing so, the U.S. anti-money laundering and financial 
counterterrorism efforts would be strengthened, modernized, and 
streamlined. One provision of the act established the Foreign 
Affiliates Sharing Pilot Program, which would permit U.S.-regulated 
financial institutions to share selected Bank Secrecy Act information 
with foreign branches and affiliates to help detect and deter illicit 
finance.
  Currently, the sharing of these suspicious activity reports 
information with foreign branches of U.S. institution is not permitted 
because they are not subject to our Nation's Bank Secrecy Act 
regulations.
  By allowing financial institutions to share information with foreign 
affiliates, the pilot program would improve multinational compliance 
and detection while still ensuring that safeguards are in place to 
protect the confidentiality of such reports.
  My bill moves the expiration date from January 1, 2024, to 3 years 
after the pilot begins. This is a necessary extension to give the 
agency sufficient time to implement the pilot program.
  The rulemaking to design the pilot was noticed back in January 2022, 
but Treasury has not yet issued a final rule to launch the program, so 
obviously an extension is needed.
  The new timeframe proposed here will enable the Department to 
complete its rulemaking process and finally implement the vital 
national security program as Congress originally intended.
  Again, I would stress the importance of passing this bill to give the 
Treasury sufficient time to implement this very bipartisan pilot 
program to bolster our ability to combat money laundering and protect 
our national security.
  The pilot program would provide institutions with a pathway to better 
manage the risk of financial crimes. The bill received a unanimous vote 
at the committee markup.
  Now, more than ever, Americans should feel confident that the 
proceeds of their transactions are not being siphoned off and stowed 
away in the coffers of criminals. I thank my colleagues on the 
committee for supporting this bill, and I urge all Members to support 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the members of the Financial Services Committee, 
particularly the incredible staff that have helped to lead this effort 
and recognize that this is a continuation of a program that has shown 
remarkable success.
  As a 20-year intelligence officer serving in both the military and 
the intelligence community, we know firsthand that the illicit use of 
financing is the blood that keeps terrorist, criminal, and foreign 
entities active on our own soil and a threat to us overseas.
  We must continue to march forward not only to hold them accountable, 
but to be able to work with our subsidiary and overseas partners to 
truly combat this threat on a global scale. The leadership shown on 
this committee as well as within the subcommittee are a direct measure 
to be able to empower our team, both in the administration, but 
particularly at our frontline levels, our banks and financial 
institutions, with the tools they need to be successful.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle and 
recognize that together this is a bill that truly helps protect our 
national security.
  Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5224, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nunn) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 5224, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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