Financial Privacy Act of 2023

Bill: 118-hr-5485
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Hill, J. French [R-AR-2]
Introduced: 2023-09-14
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Corporate finance and management

Fraud offenses and financial crimes

Government information and archives

Government studies and investigations

Right of privacy
Latest action: action_date: 2023-12-13
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 256.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-09-14
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Financial Privacy Act of 2023</strong></p><p>This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to annually report to Congress details of reports made to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN collects reports on suspicious financial transactions and the beneficial ownership of companies in order to detect financial crimes, including money laundering.</p><p>Under the bill, FinCEN must report on the number and types of reports and whether they are retained by FinCEN, any guidance regarding outside agency access to these reports, agency requests for these reports, and any denials of access. &nbsp;</p><p>Treasury must annually review access guidance and revise as appropriate to protect the legal rights of U.S persons, among other objectives.</p>

action_date: 2023-12-13
action_desc: Reported to House
text: <p><strong>Financial Privacy Act of 2023</strong></p><p>This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to annually report to Congress details of reports made to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN collects reports on suspicious financial transactions and the beneficial ownership of companies in order to detect financial crimes, including money laundering.</p><p>Under the bill, FinCEN must report on the number and types of reports and whether they are retained by FinCEN, any guidance regarding outside agency access to these reports, agency requests for these reports, and any denials of access. &nbsp;</p><p>Treasury must annually review access guidance and revise as appropriate to protect the legal rights of U.S persons, among other objectives.</p>

tv_txt: IB Union Calendar No. 256 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5485 [Report No. 118–317] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 14, 2023 Mr. Hill (for himself and Mr. Himes ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services December 13, 2023 Additional sponsor: Mr. Sherman December 13, 2023 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 14, 2023 A BILL To require the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for greater transparency and protections with regard to Bank Secrecy Act reports, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Financial Privacy Act of 2023 . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) Pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act ( BSA ), the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ), collects millions of reports annually on the economic activity of ordinary Americans. (2) Since 2001, FinCEN has applied the BSA to collect over 322,000,000 Currency Transaction Reports and more than 36,000,000 Suspicious Activity Reports, as well as nearly 5,000,000 Form 8300 Reports. In addition, FinCEN expects to amass beneficial ownership information ( BOI ) from 32,000,000 companies in its initial year of collection, plus 5,000,000 additional companies implicated each year thereafter. (3) The mass of reporting collected by FinCEN suggests that, while certain BSA reports might prove useful to combat illicit finance, the bulk of BSA-related data may possess little to no nexus to legitimate law enforcement or intelligence purposes, even as it encompasses highly sensitive details on the everyday lives of Americans. (4) By law, the Secretary of the Treasury must ensure the security and confidentiality of BSA data. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking from December 2022, FinCEN acknowledged that BOI is highly sensitive information. FinCEN therefore views it as critical to mitigate the risk of unauthorized disclosure of BOI as much as possible. . 3. Reports to Congress; Review of protocols for agency access to reports (a) In general Chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subchapter II, by inserting after section 5326 the following: 5327. Reports to Congress; Review of protocols for agency access to reports (a) Reports to Congress Not later than 180 days following the date of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report containing the following: (1) The number of reports, by type, filed each year with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ) under this subchapter since January 1, 2022. (2) The total number of reports filed under this subchapter retained by FinCEN. (3) A description of any written protocols or guidance from the Secretary to national security, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies regarding agency access to, and retention or dissemination of, information held by FinCEN from reports filed under this subchapter, including— (A) a description of any updates to the protocols or guidance during the reporting period; (B) the number of queries by such agencies to access the information during the reporting period; and (C) any denials of requests for, or revocations of, access by a national security, law enforcement, or intelligence agency, or by any employee thereof, with a description of the reasons for the denial or revocation, as the case may be. (b) Review and revision of protocols In consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury shall annually review and, as appropriate, revise any written protocols or guidance described under subsection (a) for the purposes of— (1) better tailoring the collection, retention, and dissemination of information filed under this subchapter to authorized national security, law enforcement, or intelligence objectives; (2) enforcing prohibitions against unauthorized disclosure of such information; and (3) protecting fully the legal rights of all United States persons, including freedoms, civil liberties, and privacy rights guaranteed by Federal law. (c) Congressional requests; notice of changes (1) Requests for information Upon request of the chair or ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives or the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Secretary shall provide a copy of any written protocols or guidance described in subsection (a)(3). (2) Notice of changes Not later than 30 days after revising any written protocols or guidance described in subsection (a)(3), the Secretary shall provide a copy of such revised written protocols or guidance to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. ; and (2) in the table of contents for such chapter, by inserting after the item relating to section 5326 the following: 5327. Reports to Congress; Review of protocols for agency access to reports. . (b) Sunset On the date that is the end of the 7-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act— (1) section 5327 of title 31, United States Code, is repealed; and (2) the table of contents for chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 5327.

December 13, 2023 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5485 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 14, 2023 Mr. Hill (for himself and Mr. Himes ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To require the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for greater transparency and protections with regard to Bank Secrecy Act reports, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Financial Privacy Act of 2023 . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) Pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act ( BSA ), the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ), collects millions of reports annually on the economic activity of ordinary Americans. (2) Since 2001, FinCEN has applied the BSA to collect over 322,000,000 Currency Transaction Reports and more than 36,000,000 Suspicious Activity Reports, as well as nearly 5,000,000 Form 8300 Reports. In addition, FinCEN expects to amass beneficial ownership information ( BOI ) from 32,000,000 companies in its initial year of collection, plus 5,000,000 additional companies implicated each year thereafter. (3) The mass of reporting collected by FinCEN suggests that, while certain BSA reports might prove useful to combat illicit finance, the bulk of BSA-related data may possess little to no nexus to legitimate law enforcement or intelligence purposes, even as it encompasses highly sensitive details on the everyday lives of Americans. (4) By law, the Secretary of the Treasury must ensure the security and confidentiality of BSA data. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking from December 2022, FinCEN acknowledged that BOI is highly sensitive information. FinCEN therefore views it as critical to mitigate the risk of unauthorized disclosure of BOI as much as possible. . 3. Reports to Congress; Review of protocols for agency access to reports (a) In general Chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subchapter II, by inserting after section 5326 the following: 5327. Reports to Congress; Review of protocols for agency access to reports (a) Reports to Congress Not later than 180 days following the date of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report containing the following: (1) The number of reports, by type, filed each year with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ) under this subchapter since January 1, 2022. (2) The total number of reports filed under this subchapter retained by FinCEN. (3) A description of any written protocols or guidance from the Secretary to national security, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies regarding agency access to, and retention or dissemination of, information held by FinCEN from reports filed under this subchapter, including— (A) a description of any updates to the protocols or guidance during the reporting period; (B) the number of queries by such agencies to access the information during the reporting period; and (C) any denials of requests for, or revocations of, access by a national security, law enforcement, or intelligence agency, or by any employee thereof, with a description of the reasons for the denial or revocation, as the case may be. (b) Review and revision of protocols In consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury shall annually review and, as appropriate, revise any written protocols or guidance described under subsection (a) for the purposes of— (1) better tailoring the collection, retention, and dissemination of information filed under this subchapter to authorized national security, law enforcement, or intelligence objectives; (2) enforcing prohibitions against unauthorized disclosure of such information; and (3) protecting fully the legal rights of all United States persons, including freedoms, civil liberties, and privacy rights guaranteed by Federal law. (c) Congressional requests; notice of changes (1) Requests for information Upon request of the chair or ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives or the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Secretary shall provide a copy of any written protocols or guidance described in subsection (a)(3). (2) Notice of changes Not later than 30 days after revising any written protocols or guidance described in subsection (a)(3), the Secretary shall provide a copy of such revised written protocols or guidance to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. ; and (2) in the table of contents for such chapter, by inserting after the item relating to section 5326 the following: 5327. Reports to Congress; Review of protocols for agency access to reports . (b) Sunset On the date that is the end of the 7-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act— (1) section 5327 of title 31, United States Code, is repealed; and (2) the table of contents for chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 5327.