Washington—A revised anti-money laundering bill was scheduled to be marked-up in the House Financial Service Committee today named the Counter Terrorism and Illicit Finance Act (H.R. 6068), introduced by Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-N.M.). The bill modernizes the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by updating reporting thresholds that have not been updated in decades and have resulted in millions of unnecessary reports being filed. Compliance costs are harming community banks and the small broker-dealers that serve main street businesses and entrepreneurs. This legislation would reduce these costs.
Importantly, the revised bill drops a controversial provision known as “beneficial ownership reporting” that would have unfairly imposed large compliance burdens on small businesses, charities, and religious organizations. Heritage Action released the following statement from Policy Director Wesley Coopersmith:
Rep. Pearce’s improved legislation takes important steps to modernize the BSA to foster improved compliance and reduce the burden imposed on the community banks and the small broker-dealers that serve main street America. The bill does so without creating a large compliance burden on small businesses and churches that could have resulted in as many as one million inadvertent felons.
Heritage Action supports H.R. 6068 and encourages the House Financial Services Committee to markup the bill in its current form.
Related:
Heritage Foundation: Beneficial Ownership Reporting Regime Targets Small Businesses and Religious Congregations