Congress has an opportunity to provide law enforcement and America’s banks with new tools to keep criminals, terrorists and human traffickers from gaining access to the financial system by advancing important anti-money laundering legislation, ABA CEO Rob Nichols wrote in a Fox Business op-ed today.
Nichols urged the Senate to approve the Illicit Cash Act, the Senate version of a House bill that passed on a bipartisan vote earlier this year. The bill—which is co-sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.)—would establish a national database of beneficial ownership information, eliminating a key vulnerability of the U.S. financial system. Both the House and Senate bills also enhance information sharing between law enforcement and financial institutions to make money laundering efforts even more effective.
“These bipartisan bills demonstrate that lawmakers can still craft commonsense measures to support law enforcement and enhance the security of the country,” Nichols wrote. “We urge the Senate to follow the House’s lead and pass these important reforms so the president can sign this legislation into law.”
