[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4584-S4586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2262. Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. King)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S.
4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 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 title X, add the following:
Subtitle I--Combatting Cross-Border Financial Crime
SEC. 1095. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Combating Cross-border
Financial Crime Act of 2024''.
SEC. 1095A. 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 those terms are used 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
Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies in
the United States 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
[[Page S4585]]
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, 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) $6,200,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
``(B) such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2030.
``(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, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on
Financial Services, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
``(2) Trade-based money laundering.--The term `trade-based
money laundering' means the process of disguising the
proceeds of
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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. 1095B. TRADE TRANSPARENCY UNITS PROGRAM.
The Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304 et seq.) is 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
established under subsection (a) 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, 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 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 2024, 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 2024.
``(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) 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 2025 through 2030 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. 1095C. 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.
______