Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I wish to note for the Record that I agree with Senator Levin on the need to address the problem of tax havens, and it is certainly true that the provision of the Bank Secrecy Act that he seeks to amend has been important in dealing with the matters for which it was intended jurisdictions of primary anti-money laundering concern--when it was made part of the PATRIOT Act. However, neither I, as Banking Committee Chairman, nor other members of the Committee, were consulted by Senator Levin as this amendment was being developed, although the Bank Secrecy Act is clearly within the Committee's core jurisdiction. Consequently, Committee staff have not had adequate time to review and assess responsibly the amendment and its possible ramifications, and have had no chance to vet it with appropriate parts of the Treasury Department, including the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which administers the Bank Secrecy Act, with the Nation's tax administrators, with the Department of Justice, or with other interested parties. That is normally how changes to the Act are made. Thus it is impossible for us fully to assess the implications of these major changes in the law, or to discern any unintended consequences that may arise from them.…”