[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
* * * * * * *
SUBTITLE IV--MONEY
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 53--MONETARY TRANSACTIONS
* * * * * * *
SUBCHAPTER II--RECORDS AND REPORTS ON MONETARY INSTRUMENTS TRANSACTIONS
* * * * * * *
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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