[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 118 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H4651-H4653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY PROTECTION ACT OF 2023

  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 2969) to establish an Independent Financial Technology 
Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2969

       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 ``Financial Technology 
     Protection Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP TO 
                   COMBAT TERRORISM AND ILLICIT FINANCING.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established the Independent 
     Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and 
     Illicit Financing (in this section referred to as the 
     ``Working Group''), which shall consist of the following:
       (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Under 
     Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, who shall 
     serve as the chair of the Working Group.
       (2) A senior-level representative from each of the 
     following:
       (A) Each of the following components of the Department of 
     the Treasury:
       (i) The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
       (ii) The Internal Revenue Service.
       (iii) The Office of Foreign Assets Control.
       (B) The Department of Justice and each of the following 
     components of the Department:
       (i) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
       (ii) The Drug Enforcement Administration.
       (C) The Department of Homeland Security and the United 
     States Secret Service.
       (D) The Department of State.
       (E) The Central Intelligence Agency.
       (3) Five individuals appointed by the Under Secretary for 
     Terrorism and Financial Intelligence to represent the 
     following:
       (A) Financial technology companies.
       (B) Blockchain intelligence companies.
       (C) Financial institutions.
       (D) Institutions or organizations engaged in research.
       (E) Institutions or organizations focused on individual 
     privacy and civil liberties.
       (b) Duties.--The Working Group shall--
       (1) conduct research on terrorist and illicit use of new 
     financial technologies, including digital assets; and
       (2) develop legislative and regulatory proposals to improve 
     anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist, and other counter-
     illicit financing efforts in the United States.
       (c) Reports.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and annually for the 3 years 
     thereafter, the Working Group shall submit to the Secretary 
     of the Treasury, the heads of each agency represented in the 
     Working Group pursuant to subsection (a)(2), and the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report containing the 
     findings and determinations made by the Working Group in the 
     previous year and any legislative and regulatory proposals 
     developed by the Working Group.
       (2) Final report.--Before the date on which the Working 
     Group terminates under subsection (d)(1), the Working Group 
     shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
     final report detailing the findings, recommendations, and 
     activities of the Working Group.
       (d) Sunset.--
       (1) In general.--The Working Group shall, subject to 
     paragraph (3), terminate on the date that is 4 years after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (2) Expiration and return of appropriated funds.--On the 
     date on which the Working Group terminates under paragraph 
     (1)--
       (A) all authorities granted to the Working Group under this 
     section shall expire, subject to paragraph (3); and
       (B) any funds appropriated for the Working Group that are 
     available for obligation as of that date shall be returned to 
     the Treasury.
       (3) Authority to wind up activities.--The termination of 
     the Working Group under paragraph (1) and the expiration of 
     authorities under paragraph (2) shall not affect any 
     research, proposals, or other related activities of the 
     Working Group ongoing as of the date on which the Working 
     Group terminates under paragraph (1). Such research, 
     proposals, and other related activities may continue until 
     their completion.

[[Page H4652]]

  


     SEC. 3. PREVENTING ROGUE AND FOREIGN ACTORS FROM EVADING 
                   SANCTIONS.

       (a) Report and Strategy With Respect to Digital Assets and 
     Other Related Emerging Technologies.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the 
     Secretary of the Treasury and in consultation with the head 
     of each agency represented on the Independent Financial 
     Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit 
     Financing pursuant to section 2(a)(2), shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report that 
     describes--
       (A) the potential uses of digital assets and other related 
     emerging technologies by States, non-State actors, foreign 
     terrorist organizations, and other terrorist groups to evade 
     sanctions, finance terrorism, or launder monetary 
     instruments, and threaten the national security of the United 
     States; and
       (B) a strategy how the United States will mitigate and 
     prevent the illicit use of digital assets and other related 
     emerging technologies.
       (2) Form of report; public availability.--
       (A) In general.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
     be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
     classified annex.
       (B) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of each 
     report required by paragraph (1) shall be made available to 
     the public and posted on a publicly accessible website of the 
     Department of Treasury--
       (i) in precompressed, easily downloadable versions, in all 
     appropriate formats; and
       (ii) in machine-readable format, if applicable.
       (3) Sources of information.--In preparing the reports 
     required by paragraph (1), the President may utilize any 
     credible publication, database, or web-based resource, and 
     any credible information compiled by any government agency, 
     nongovernmental organization, or other entity that is made 
     available to the President.
       (b) Briefing.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
     brief the appropriate congressional committees on the 
     implementation of the strategy required by subsection (a)(2).

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 
     the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
     the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
     the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Select Committee on 
     Intelligence of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on 
     Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Security, the 
     Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Way and Means, 
     and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (2) Blockchain intelligence company.--The term ``blockchain 
     intelligence company'' means any business providing software, 
     research, or other services (such as blockchain tracing 
     tools, geofencing, transaction screening, the collection of 
     business data, and sanctions screening) that--
       (A) support private and public sector investigations and 
     risk management activities; and
       (B) involve cryptographically secured distributed ledgers 
     or any similar technology or implementation.
       (3) Digital asset.--The term ``digital asset'' means any 
     digital representation of value that is recorded on a 
     cryptographically secured digital ledger or any similar 
     technology.
       (4) Foreign terrorist organization.--The term ``foreign 
     terrorist organization'' means an organization that is 
     designated as a foreign terrorist organization under section 
     219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).
       (5) Illicit use.--The term ``illicit use'' includes fraud, 
     darknet marketplace transactions, money laundering, the 
     purchase and sale of illicit goods, sanctions evasion, theft 
     of funds, funding of illegal activities, transactions related 
     to child sexual abuse material, and any other financial 
     transaction involving the proceeds of specified unlawful 
     activity (as defined in section 1956(c) of title 18, United 
     States Code).
       (6) Terrorist.--The term ``terrorist'' includes a person 
     carrying out domestic terrorism or international terrorism 
     (as such terms are defined, respectively, under section 2331 
     of title 18, United States Code).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Nunn) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Nickel) 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, I rise today in strong support of the Financial 
Technology Protection Act of 2023. Blockchain technology and digital 
assets are here to stay, and we need an environment in which they can 
grow in the United States without being exploited by our adversaries.
  The transparent and traceable nature of this technology improves law 
enforcement's abilities to combat cybercrime and to recover funds 
fueling our enemies today.
  These insights have led to massive forfeitures and seizures of 
illicit funds and high-profile prosecutions that help every American.
  Last year the U.S. Government utilized this technology to recover 
over $30 million in stolen funds from the Lazarus Group, a North Korean 
hacking entity. In the same year, the Israeli Government and their 
authorities used blockchain to recover roughly $1.7 million from the 
Hezbollah terrorist group financed by Iran.
  Mr. Speaker, as a former national counterintelligence officer for 
cyber, I have also seen firsthand how this technology can be exploited 
by terrorist groups and our adversaries for illicit money and 
laundering, a direct threat to U.S. national security. That is why I 
introduced the Financial Technology Protection Act, along with my 
colleague on the other side of the aisle, Representative Himes from 
Connecticut.
  This bipartisan bill establishes a working group of key Federal 
Government departments, intelligence agencies, private organizations 
and their innovation, as well as private-sector experts to combat 
terrorism and illicit financing on digital platforms.
  The working group will consist of experts to develop legislative and 
regulatory proposals to tackle anti-money laundering and address 
security risks, as well as prevent illicit financing activity right 
here in the United States.
  These efforts are critical in protecting our financial systems from 
bad actors and our adversaries alike, including those nation-states 
like the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation.
  Passing this legislation, I believe, is crucial in strengthening 
America's national security, protecting our digital assets, and 
ensuring the next generation of financial and internet technology is 
built right here in America. This is a commonsense piece of 
legislation, and it passed out of the Financial Services Committee 
unanimously. I would also like to thank our colleagues across the 
rotunda, including Senator Budd for his leadership on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support my bipartisan Financial 
Technology Protection Act for the sake of America and our innovative 
future, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NICKEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2969, the Financial Technology 
Protection Act of 2023 sponsored by my colleague Representative Nunn 
from the great State of Iowa and Representative Himes.
  As its sponsors recognize, the benefits offered by emerging financial 
technologies, including digital assets, including peer-to-peer 
technologies and blockchain-based exchanges, can be a boon to consumers 
and industry, providing speedy transactions, anonymity, and lower 
costs. It is important that we encourage this innovation here in the 
United States.
  These same traits, however, can be abused by bad actors for 
laundering money and obscuring ownership and source of funds allowing 
traffickers, terrorists, kleptocrats, and other bad actors to move and 
hide their operational assets and the proceeds of their crimes.
  This bill establishes a public-private independent financial 
technology working group to combat terrorism and illicit financing to 
make related recommendations to Congress for new financial crime 
legislation and regulations.
  All Members of this body should support efforts to detect and defer 
illicit finance while encouraging responsible innovation that will 
propel our country and our economy into the future.

[[Page H4653]]

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, this has been a great work of 
bipartisanship that impacts not only the future of our country but your 
and my futures, the future of America, and the future of all the young 
children today watching this take place.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De 
La Cruz), my very good friend.
  Ms. DE LA CRUZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, we live in an increasingly interconnected world with new 
and emerging technologies changing how we conduct business with one 
another and exchange currency.
  Blockchain technology and digital assets are a key component of this. 
This new technology is here to stay and needs an environment in which 
it can continue to grow and thrive in the United States.
  At the same time, Congress needs to ensure that law enforcement has 
the tools they need to combat new threats arising from this technology. 
The Financial Technology Protection Act will help accomplish that goal.
  H.R. 2969 establishes an independent financial technology working 
group that is focused on combating illicit finance using financial 
technologies, including digital assets.
  The working group established by this act will conduct research on 
illicit finance and will use that knowledge to develop legislative and 
regulatory proposals to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, 
and other threats to the U.S. so that our families are more secure and 
money is cut off from illicit enterprises.
  This bill is good governance. It is bipartisan. It is a cooperative 
effort to address real problems in our country, and I am happy to 
support it and vote in favor of it on the House floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2969.
  Mr. NICKEL. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas 
(Ms. De La Cruz) not only for her incredible work in Texas but for what 
she is doing on the Financial Services Committee to really help protect 
our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Nickel) has no 
additional speakers, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. NICKEL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
myself the balance of my time to close.
  Mr. Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time 
to close.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank all of my colleagues on the House Committee on 
Financial Services. This has truly been a team effort.
  Mr. Speaker, I remind the entire body, as well as my fellow 
Americans, that blockchain technology, digital assets, and other 
financial technology products are here to stay, and they will be an 
intricate part of our future. Together, we need an environment where 
they can grow safely, right here in America. We must move them smartly, 
innovatively, and made in the U.S.
  At the same time, we must stay one step ahead of bad actors, 
terrorists, and others who want to exploit our financial system to 
engage in illicit activity or, worse, terrorism or state-sponsored 
threats.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill moves us in the right direction, and so I urge 
my colleagues to support H.R. 2969.
  Mr. Speaker, 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. 2969, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________