Should the Feds Crackdown on Money Laundering That Facilitates Human Trafficking? (H.R. 2219)

What is H.R. 2219?

(Updated December 15, 2018)

This bill would require the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to review and enhance where necessary anti-money laundering programs targeting human trafficking operations and refer potential cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies. The State Department would be required to report on efforts to eliminate money laundering related to human trafficking and the number of investigations, arrests, indictments, and convictions in money laundering cases related to human trafficking.

The Secretary of the Treasury would be added as a member of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. The task force is required to submit to Congress recommendations for the revision of anti-money laundering programs to specifically target money related to human trafficking.

Argument in favor

Federal agencies should step up their efforts to eliminate human trafficking by cutting off their access to financial services, this bill is a step in that direction.

Argument opposed

The federal government is already doing enough to counteract the illicit financing of human trafficking operations, these reports wouldn’t be helpful.

Impact

Human trafficking victims; financial regulators; and the Depts. of State & Treasury.

Cost of H.R. 2219

The CBO estimates that enacting this bill would cost less than $500,000 over the 2018-2022 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) introduced this bill to help law enforcement and financial institutions identify and report suspected human traffickers so that they can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law:

“Human trafficking has devastated the lives of tens of millions around the world — including here in the United States. The perpetrators of these disgusting acts prey on the defenseless in our society even young children. Tragically, it’s estimated that forced labor yields more than $150 billion in illegal profits every year. This makes human trafficking the third most valuable criminal enterprise in the world. If we’re going to end this horrific trade, we’ve got to start by cutting off traffickers from the financial system. These criminals are laundering profits through financial institutions far too easily. This act will help put a stop to that.”

This legislation passed both the House Financial Services Committee on a 59-0 vote and the Foreign Affairs Committee on a voice vote. It has the support of 15 bipartisan cosponsors including nine Democrats and six Republicans.

Media:

• House Foreign Affairs Committee Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate
  
• Republican Policy Committee