To direct the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to jointly conduct a study on the efforts of authoritarian regimes in foreign countries to exploit the financial system of the United States, and for other purposes.

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8796 To direct the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to jointly conduct a study on the efforts of authoritarian regimes in foreign coun- tries to exploit the financial system of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 20, 2020 Mr. CASTEN of Illinois (for himself and Mr. RIGGLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to jointly conduct a study on the efforts of authoritarian regimes in foreign countries to exploit the financial system of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. STUDY AND REPORT ON THE EFFORTS OF AU- 3 THORITARIAN REGIMES IN FOREIGN COUN- 4 TRIES TO EXPLOIT THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM 5 OF THE UNITED STATES. 6 (a) STUDY.— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8796.IH H8796 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8796 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 1 the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec- 2 retary of the Treasury and the Attorney General 3 shall jointly conduct a study on how authoritarian 4 regimes in foreign countries and the proxies of such 5 regimes use the financial system of the United 6 States to— 7 (A) conduct political influence operations; 8 (B) sustain kleptocratic methods of main- 9 taining power; 10 (C) export corruption; 11 (D) fund nongovernmental organizations, 12 media organizations, or academic initiatives in 13 the United States to advance the interests of 14 such regimes; and 15 (E) otherwise undermine democratic gov- 16 ernance in the United States and the partners 17 and allies of the United States. 18 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of the 19 Treasury and the Attorney General shall carry out 20 the study required under paragraph (1) in consulta- 21 tion with the heads of other relevant national secu- 22 rity, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies. 23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 24 of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8796.IH H8796 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8796 IH Treasury shall submit to the Committee on Banking, 1 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Com- 2 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Representa- 3 tives a report that includes— 4 (1) the results of the study required under sub- 5 section (a)(1); and 6 (2) any recommendations for legislative or regu- 7 latory action, or steps to be taken by United States 8 financial institutions, that would address exploitation 9 of the financial system of the United States by au- 10 thoritarian regimes in foreign countries and the 11 proxies of such regimes. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8796.IH H8796 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS