WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has introduced two bills that would restrain the powers of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, particularly when it comes to its
One of these bills, the Accountability Through Confirmation Act of 2023, would require that the director of Fincen be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The second, the Protecting Small Business Information Act of 2023, would delay the implementation of the beneficial ownership reporting requirements, currently scheduled for the beginning of 2024, until Fincen finalizes two other related rulemakings.
"The degree of regulatory authority and volume of Americans' sensitive information amassed by Fincen would make the intelligence community blush," McHenry said in a statement. "They have done this with little transparency and accountability, and a disregard for Americans' privacy rights."
The rule, once sought by banks and bipartisan lawmakers to crack down on shell companies used by criminals and corrupt foreign officials, has drawn criticism from some House Republicans for its lack of clarity. Recently, McHenry, along with the Chair of the House Committee on Small Business Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo.,
Banks have
"As currently conceived, the Registry will be of limited, if any, value to banks," the American Bankers Association wrote in a press release in February. "The proposal creates a framework in which banks' access to the Registry will be so limited that it will effectively be useless, resulting in a dual reporting regime for both banks and small businesses."
