Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the FIND Trafficking Act, H.R. 502. Over the last several years, the work of law enforcement has gotten significantly harder. One difference, cryptocurrencies; virtual currencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, and others, have changed consumers' relationships with money in profound ways, allowing them to conduct anonymous transactions outside the traditional banking sector. Criminal networks have taken advantage of these new tools using virtual currencies to carry out drug sales and sex trafficking operations. That is why the FIND Trafficking Act is so important. This bipartisan bill would require the Comptroller General of the United States to study how virtual currencies enable criminal activity and propose solutions to stop it. Based on these findings, Congress would design legislation to regulate virtual currencies. Our law enforcement officials are already working hard to tackle this challenge. In November of 2016, for example, during an investigation into an illegal fentanyl operation, Federal law enforcement seized $2 million in virtual currency. Nonetheless, human traffickers and drug dealers have gravitated to virtual currencies because they provide an unprecedented level of secrecy and anonymity. According to DEA, online marketplaces now use virtual currencies to sell fentanyl, a prime contribution to America's deadly opioid crisis. We are now living and dying through the consequences.…”