Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for offering me just a moment to talk about something that is very important to me. Madam Speaker, I rise today at a time when the United States and the international community must step up efforts to combat money laundering. Money laundering is a critical source of funding for terrorist organizations and drug cartels like the ones that my good friend from Florida might be talking about tonight. These are drug cartels and other organized crime rings. It is used to disguise profits from or financing for illicit activity. Money is moved in a variety of ways across borders and through the global financial markets to evade detection by law enforcement--global financial markets just like ours. While exact numbers can't be determined, estimates suggest that annual sums of money laundering are in the trillions of dollars--trillions. Money laundering facilitates a broad range of serious underlying crimes, including the financing of North Korea's and Iran's nuclear proliferation networks and the activities of terrorist operations. Money laundering also plays a significant role in drug, human, and wildlife trafficking. In today's world, money launderers rely on both new and old methods. The crime is conducted through shell companies, bulk cash smuggling, gambling, cyber-related methods, and investments in mobile commodities, including things that you might not think about, like gems and real estate--yes, real estate.…”