[House Report 117-425]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                  {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                  {      117-425

======================================================================

 
            TIMELY DELIVERY OF BANK SECRECY ACT REPORTS ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 20, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Waters, from the Committee on Financial Services, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 7734]

    The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 7734) to amend title 31, United States Code, to 
require the timely production of reports to Congress under the 
Bank Secrecy Act, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Backbround and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     3
Hearings.........................................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
Statement of Performance Goals and Objectives....................     4
New Budget Authority and C.B.O. Cost Estimate....................     4
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     4
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     5
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     5
Changes to Existing Law..........................................     5

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Timely Delivery of Bank Secrecy Act 
Reports Act''.

SEC. 2. TIMELY PRODUCTION OF BANK SECRECY ACT REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

  Section 5319 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
          (1) by striking ``The Secretary of the Treasury'' and 
        inserting the following:
  ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury''; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following:
  ``(b) Timely Production of Reports to Congress.--
          ``(1) Production by the secretary.--Upon the request of the 
        congressional committees or subcommittees of appropriate 
        jurisdiction for any report filed under this subchapter, the 
        Secretary of the Treasury shall deliver the requested report to 
        the committee or subcommittee not later than 30 days after such 
        request is made.
          ``(2) Production by a financial institution pursuant to a 
        subpoena.--Upon subpoena by the congressional committees or 
        subcommittees of appropriate jurisdiction, a financial 
        institution shall deliver a report filed under this subchapter 
        by the financial institution, and any information on which such 
        report is based, to the committee or subcommittee not later 
        than the return date specified for such report in the 
        subpoena.''.

                          Purpose and Summary

    On May 12, 2022, Representative Waters introduced H.R. 
7734, the ``Timely Delivery of Bank Secrecy Act Reports Act,'' 
which would establish a time frame for the production of Bank 
Secrecy Act reports to Congress by requiring the Secretary of 
the Treasury to, upon the request of the congressional 
committees or subcommittees of appropriate jurisdiction, 
deliver Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports to Congress not later 
than the end of a 30-day period beginning on the date such 
information is requested. Similarly, it requires a financial 
institution to, upon a subpoena by the congressional committees 
or subcommittees of appropriate jurisdiction, deliver BSA 
reports not later than the return date specified for such 
reports in the subpoena.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    For decades, FinCEN, which is a Bureau of the Treasury 
Department, has cooperated with Congressional requests for 
Suspicious Activity Reports, and other materials (such as 
Currency Transaction Reports, Geographic Targeting Order 
reports, and Foreign Bank Account Reports, collectively known 
as ``BSA reports,'') by providing such materials upon request 
in a timely manner. To the extent that Congress has requested 
this information, Congress has respected the fact that these 
materials are sensitive, and has handled the materials 
securely. BSA reports can be critical to Congressional 
investigations and Congress has never needed to exercise its 
subpoena authority in order to obtain this information from 
FinCEN.
    Unfortunately, Treasury and FinCEN have recently severely 
restricted Congressional access to Suspicious Activity Reports 
by requiring Congressional staff to review all material in a 
reading room at Treasury, prohibiting the copying of materials 
for purposes of highlighting, ongoing reference, or margin 
notation, and restricting information collection to note 
taking. As an alternative, Treasury and FinCEN have offered to 
bring the material to the requesting Committee and then take 
the material back to Treasury when the review is completed. The 
restrictions that they have imposed upon Congressional access 
to SARs and related materials are unworkable given the 
complexity and amount of information contained in such 
materials, and severely impairs Congress' responsibility to 
carry on its oversight work in a timely and effective fashion.
    Treasury's and FinCEN's new restrictions are also out of 
conformance with the statutory language and legislative history 
of the provisions that established the SAR requirement and 
process. Financial institutions and government personnel were 
only prohibited from notifying the subject of a SAR that such a 
report had been filed. No legislative language, statutory 
provision, case law, or even any subsequent regulation issued 
by FinCEN prohibit government personnel or the financial 
institutions themselves from providing such materials to 
Congress.
    This bill would ensure that Congress can obtain access to 
BSA reports without unnecessary and cumbersome restrictions, 
and can do so in a timely manner to continue its investigatory 
work.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

           This section establishes the short title of 
        the bill as the ``Timely Delivery of Bank Secrecy Act 
        Reports Act.''

Section 2.

           Section 2(1) of the bill establishes a time 
        frame for the production of Bank Secrecy Act reports to 
        Congress by requiring the Secretary of the Treasury, 
        upon the request of the congressional committees or 
        subcommittees of appropriate jurisdiction, to deliver 
        BSA reports to Congress not later than the end of a 30-
        day period beginning on the date such information is 
        requested by Congress.
           Section 2(2) requires a financial 
        institution, upon a subpoena by the congressional 
        committees or subcommittees of appropriate 
        jurisdiction, to deliver BSA reports to Congress not 
        later than the return date specified for such reports 
        in the subpoena.

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of section 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
Committee on Financial Services' Full Committee held a hearing 
on April 28, 2022, to consider H.R. 7734 entitled, ``Oversight 
of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.''

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on 
May 18, 2022 and ordered H.R. 7734 to be reported favorably to 
the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute by a 
voice vote, a quorum being present.

                  Committee Votes and Roll Call Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that no 
roll call votes occurred during the Committee's consideration 
of H.R. 7734.

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in the descriptive portions of this report.

             Statement of Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause (3)(c) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the goals of H.R. 7734 are to 
establish a time frame for the production of Bank Secrecy Act 
reports to Congress by requiring the Secretary of the Treasury 
to, upon the request of the congressional committees or 
subcommittees of appropriate jurisdiction, deliver BSA reports 
to Congress not later than the end of a 30-day period beginning 
on the date such information is requested and to require a 
financial institution to, upon a subpoena by the congressional 
committees or subcommittees of appropriate jurisdiction, 
deliver BSA reports not later than the return date specified 
for such reports in the subpoena.

               New Budget Authority and CBO Cost Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has requested an estimate from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office. CBO was unable to 
provide an estimate in a timely manner.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the 
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 7734. After 
careful review, including discussions with the Congressional 
Budget Office, the Committee estimates that H.R. 7734 would 
have an insignificant impact on spending

                       Unfunded Mandate Statement

    Pursuant to Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, Pub. L. 104-4), the Committee 
adopts its own the estimate of federal mandates regarding H.R. 
7734, as amended.

                           Advisory Committee

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

              Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    Pursuant to section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional 
Accountability Act, Pub. L. No. 104-1, H.R. 7734, as amended, 
does not apply to terms and conditions of employment or to 
access to public services or accommodations within the 
legislative branch.

                           Earmark Statement

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 7734 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as described in clauses 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule 
XXI.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee states that no 
provision of H.R. 7734 establishes or reauthorizes a program of 
the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another 
federal program, a program that was included in any report from 
the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

                        Changes to Existing Law

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, H.R. 7734, as reported, are shown as follows:

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                      TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE




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SUBTITLE IV--MONEY

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CHAPTER 53--MONETARY TRANSACTIONS

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SUBCHAPTER II--RECORDS AND REPORTS ON MONETARY INSTRUMENTS TRANSACTIONS

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Sec. 5319. Availability of reports

   [The Secretary of the Treasury] (a)  In General._The 
Secretary of the Treasury  shall make information in a report 
filed under this subchapter available to an agency, including 
any State financial institutions supervisory agency, United 
States intelligence agency or self-regulatory organization 
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, upon request of the head 
of the agency or organization. The report shall be available 
for a purpose that is consistent with this subchapter. The 
Secretary may only require reports on the use of such 
information by any State financial institutions supervisory 
agency for other than supervisory purposes or by United States 
intelligence agencies. However, a report and records of reports 
are exempt from search and disclosure under section 552 of 
title 5, and may not be disclosed under any State, local, 
tribal, or territorial ``freedom of information'', ``open 
government'', or similar law.
  (b) Timely Production of Reports to Congress.--
          (1) Production by the secretary.--Upon the request of 
        the congressional committees or subcommittees of 
        appropriate jurisdiction for any report filed under 
        this subchapter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        deliver the requested report to the committee or 
        subcommittee not later than 30 days after such request 
        is made.
          (2) Production by a financial institution pursuant to 
        a subpoena.--Upon subpoena by the congressional 
        committees or subcommittees of appropriate 
        jurisdiction, a financial institution shall deliver a 
        report filed under this subchapter by the financial 
        institution, and any information on which such report 
        is based, to the committee or subcommittee not later 
        than the return date specified for such report in the 
        subpoena.

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