Financial Technology Protection Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Hill for his leadership on this, as well as Ranking Member Waters.

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2384, the Financial Technology Protection Act of 2025, a bill that I am honored to both lead and author that was created out of a vast network of partnership on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, this Congress cemented the United States as the crypto capital of the world. The leadership of Members of this Chamber on both sides took meaningful steps to lay a foundation for a robust digital asset framework, one that fosters innovation, creates clarity, and protects consumers.

Now we can start making sure that this foundation is built in a safe and secure way for every American. We build directly on the momentum and the strength of our national security posture at this very critical time.

We all know that blockchain technology and digital assets are here to stay, and it is good that they are here in America. The question is not whether this technology will shape the future. It is whether the U.S. or other competitors, particularly those in China and the Chinese Communist Party, will write the rules of the road for the future.

As a counterintelligence officer, I have seen firsthand how terrorists and hostile regimes weaponize technology for illicit finances and cybercrime. That includes the use of anonymous digital platforms to launder money, to fund terrorism, and to bypass the very sanctions this Chamber has helped lead.

However, the transparency and traceability of blockchain enhances our law enforcement's ability to intercept these threats, recover stolen funds, and deliver justice for everyday Americans.

In fact, just weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Justice used blockchain analytics to intercept over a quarter of a million dollars intended to go to deadly Hamas terrorists who would have used it to threaten U.S. forces in the region.

Last year, the United States, working with our international partners, utilized blockchain technology to help dismantle a Russian money laundering scheme that seized more than $22 million in illicit funds, many of those taken from Americans right here at home.

This is a threat to America's very national security. From dollar- backed digital assets, we have the ability to help not only defend our men and women serving on the front line from illicit actors who would use weapons bought with this technology to threaten them, to the very mothers, fathers, and grandparents who are being taken advantage of by foreign actors to steal their money to fund this type of threat.

Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan bill establishes a working group, a task force of sorts, of key Federal agencies that include our intelligence experts, private organizations, and private sector leaders who are experienced in this, all focused on combating terrorism and illicit finance on digital platforms.

This team is helping to develop the legislative technology infusion of critical information to help establish the best techniques, tactics, and procedure to be able to stop this at its very inception.

By preventing money laundering and addressing national security risks, we are able to help stop the illicit finance activities that do real harm to the United States.

By passing this bill, we strengthen national security, protect digital assets, and ensure the next generation of financial and technological innovation is created right here in the U.S.

I thank Chairman Hill for his leadership and long vision in making this happen. I particularly express my gratitude to my Democratic colleague Representative Jim Himes, who is also the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, the HPSCI, and who knows firsthand the threats that are posed. I also thank Senator Ted Budd, who is championing this effort in the Senate.

Together, we have worked on this vital legislation for empowering our government, as well as our private sector leaders to be the vanguard in protecting our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2384) to establish an Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 2384, the Financial Technology Protection Act.

Last week, the House passed critical digital asset legislation, setting the stage for the United States to reclaim our global leadership position in financial technology on digital assets. This week, we build on that momentum to further strengthen our role in global finance.

As our technological world evolves, so must the tools that we use to combat the potential new threats associated with it.

The Financial Technology Protection Act creates a forum to ensure that our law enforcement can keep pace with illicit actors seeking to exploit these technological developments for their own gain.

Mr. Nunn's and Mr. Himes' bill establishes an Independent Financial Technology Working Group to combat terrorism, money laundering, and other illicit finance through the use of financial technologies, including digital assets.

The group will conduct independent research on the illicit use of new financial technologies and develop legislative and regulatory proposals to improve anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing efforts here in the United States.

This commonsense bill also requires private sector stakeholders to be members of the working group, bridging a gap between law enforcement and the private sector and allowing individuals with boots-on-the- ground experience to inform law enforcement's efforts and strategies.

Because of that, I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this good bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nunn), the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise again in strong support of this bill. Mr. Nunn is doing good work here, and I appreciate his leadership as a former counterintelligence officer, someone who has brought that expertise to his work here in the House.

I appreciate my friend from Connecticut, our distinguished ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, lending his expertise to this bill. For years we have talked about how do we fuse private-sector information, like in our financial services sector, with law enforcement to come up with better strategies to counter illicit finance, whether it is in trade-based money laundering, the use of cash, hawala, now digital assets, or just the plain old banking system. So I thank my friend from Iowa and urge strong bipartisan support on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H.R. 2384, the Financial Technology Protection Act sponsored by Representative Nunn and Representative Himes.

This bill seeks to establish the Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, and for other purposes.

This group is made up of both Federal agencies, companies dealing with financial technology, and companies that engage in researching the impact of financial technologies in global markets.

It will be tasked with evaluating emerging financial technologies, including digital assets, to assess their potential use in combating terrorism and illicit activities. It will conduct research on how bad actors may exploit these technologies and recommend legal and regulatory improvements to Congress and relevant agencies. Additionally, the working group will develop a strategy to address sanctions, evasion, and other illicit finance concerns.

The bill mandates that the group issue an annual report for 4 years providing updates on its findings and recommendations.

Why is this needed? We know that Russia has used crypto exchanges and alternative payment platforms to try to bypass the sanctions imposed after its brutal and unlawful invasion of Ukraine. Hamas and other terrorist groups have turned to cryptocurrencies to funnel resources toward violent operations against innocent civilians as was exposed in the investigation following the violent October 7 attacks on Israel.

North Korean hackers, operating as arms of the regime, have stolen billions of dollars in cryptocurrency through cyberattacks, laundering those funds to bankroll their illegal weapons programs and bypass international sanctions.

These are not hypothetical risks. These are real, ongoing threats to our national and global security.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, cybercriminal syndicates, supported by North Korea and rogue states like Russia, are already exploiting financial technologies to evade sanctions, fund war and terrorism, and destabilize democracies. Ignoring these threats is not an option.

This working group is an initial robust approach to gain an understanding of how to address these terrorism threats and prepare to meet and predict them.

I thank Representatives Nunn and Himes for introducing this bill, and I, again, urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.