Roscoe Bartlett: “we have heard it said it so many times that it risks becoming a cliche: Our Nation is engaged in a war against…”

“we have heard it said it so many times that it risks becoming a cliche: Our Nation is engaged in a war against terrorism. If I may be permitted one more cliche: Money is the lifeblood of any terrorist organization. The ability of the September 11th terrorists to move money through American banks without sending up any cautionary red flags was critical to their success and our national tragedy. People attempting to open accounts in this country without Social Security numbers ought to be seen as a giant, flashing red neon flag. That is why we must refuse to allow banks to accept as legitimate identification any foreign government-issued identification document in lieu of a Social Security number. The Department of Treasury and the banks see things differently. The Treasury Department has issued a final rule to allow banks to accept the Mexican matricula I.D. card. But at the request of the banks, Treasury went even further. Their rule does not even require banks to maintain copies of the matricula cards. Ignorance in this case might be good business practice, but it is dangerous and foolhardy security policy. Our responsibility as Members of Congress is to make sure that terrorists cannot use American banks to finance attacks on our people.”