Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank Chairwoman Waters for her work on this bill. I am delighted the House is considering this important bill, H.R. 758, which I have had the pleasure to work on over the past year with my good friend from Illinois, Congressman Foster. As a former community banker, I have dealt with the conflict of wanting to help law enforcement agencies when receiving a keep open letter, but not being able to because of the need to comply with the requirements set forth by a regulator, frequently and often in the middle of a bank exam. Today, the overall purpose of this bill is to support law enforcement and reduce money laundering and terrorist financing through our banking system. That is why, along with my friend Mr. Foster, I was pleased to introduce this, as the chairwoman said, narrow, commonsense bill, which enables partnerships without repercussions between law enforcement and our local financial institutions. This legislation allows law enforcement to monitor cash flows associated with criminal investigations at financial institutions. Under the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations, banks face strict rules for managing accounts so that they cannot facilitate money laundering, terrorism financing, drug running, and other illegal activities.…”