119-hr3829

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3829 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3829

To require the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to enter into a 
 memorandum of understanding to ensure the dissemination of covered 
 information, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 6, 2025

 Ms. Velazquez (for herself and Ms. Waters) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
 addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
 of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
 concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To require the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to enter into a 
 memorandum of understanding to ensure the dissemination of covered 
 information, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``FinCEN-SBA Coordination on 
Beneficial Ownership Registration Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

 It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) malign actors seek to conceal their ownership of 
 corporations, limited liability companies, or other similar 
 entities in the United States to facilitate illicit activity, 
 including money laundering, the financing of terrorism, 
 proliferation financing, serious tax fraud, human and drug 
 trafficking, counterfeiting, piracy, securities fraud, 
 financial fraud, and acts of foreign corruption, harming the 
 national security interests of the United States and allies of 
 the United States;

    (2) Federal legislation providing for the collection of 
 beneficial ownership information for corporations, limited 
 liability companies, or other similar entities formed under the 
 laws of the States is needed to--
        (A) set a clear, Federal standard for incorporation 
 practices;
        (B) protect vital Unites States national security 
 interests;
            (C) protect interstate and foreign commerce;
            (D) better enable critical national security, 
 intelligence, and law enforcement efforts to counter 
 money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and other 
 illicit activity; and
        (E) bring the United States into compliance with 
 international anti-money laundering and countering the 
 financing of terrorism standards;

    (3) Federal legislation providing for the collection of 
 beneficial ownership information is needed to protect critical 
 law enforcement and national security efforts;

    (4) the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of 
 the Small Business Administration should work with small 
 business concerns and other reporting companies to provide 
 clarity and minimize burdens on them while still generating a 
 highly useful database;

    (5) an overwhelming bipartisan majority of Congress 
 codified the provisions of paragraphs

    (1) through

    (4) in the 
 enactment of the Corporate Transparency Act (title LXIV of 
 division F of Public Law 116-283); and

    (6) full implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act 
 is critical to further the provisions of paragraphs

    (1) through

    (4) .

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Administration; administrator.--The terms 
 ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean the Small 
 Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, 
 respectively.

    (2) Beneficial ownership requirements.--The term 
 ``beneficial ownership requirements'' means the requirements 
 under 

section 5336 of title 31, United States Code.

    (3) Covered agencies.--The term ``covered agencies'' means 
 FinCEN and the Administration.

    (4) Covered information.--The term ``covered information'' 
 means information developed by FinCEN regarding the beneficial 
 ownership information reporting requirements under 

section 5336 
 of title 31, United States Code.

    (5) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
 FinCEN.

    (6) FinCEN.--The term ``FinCEN'' means the Financial Crimes 
 Enforcement Network described in 

section 310 of title 31, 
 United States Code.

    (7) Reporting company.--The term ``reporting company'' has 
 the meaning given in 

section 5336 of title 31, United States 
 Code.

    (8) Resource partner.--The term ``resource partner'' 
 means--
        (A) a small business development center (as defined 
 in 

section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
 632));
        (B) a women's business center described in 

section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656); and
            (C) Veteran Business Outreach Centers described in 
 

section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b).

    (9) Small business concern.--The term ``small business 
 concern'' has the meaning given under 

section 3 of the Small 
 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).

SEC. 4. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING TO ENSURE THE DISSEMINATION OF 
 COVERED INFORMATION.

    (a) Meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the Director shall meet to 
discuss the contents of the memorandum of understanding required by 
subsection

    (b) .

    (b) Memorandum of Understanding.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the Director 
shall enter into a written memorandum of understanding to jointly carry 
out the following activities:

    (1) Disseminating covered information to reporting 
 companies and trade associations and other entities that 
 represent small business concerns, including dissemination 
 through resource partners of the Administration.

    (2) Ensuring covered information is made available in 
 English, Spanish, and any additional languages as jointly 
 determined by the Director and the Administrator.

    (3) Ensuring that the homepage of the website of the 
 Administration includes a link to the relevant webpages of 
 FinCEN relating to beneficial ownership requirements and 
 registration for reporting companies.

    (4) Implementing a plan to identify and counter scams or 
 other fraudulent schemes related to, or purporting to be, 
 beneficial ownership reporting, and to educate reporting 
 companies and trade associations and other entities that 
 represent small business concerns about such scams or 
 fraudulent schemes.

    (5) Hosting in-person town halls and webinars--
        (A) organized by the Administrator, acting through 
 national or regional offices of the Administration;
        (B) that feature presentations by FinCEN staff on 
 compliance with beneficial ownership requirements; and
            (C) that are advertised to reporting companies and 
 trade associations and other entities that represent 
 small business concerns.

    (6) Implementing a plan to use field offices of the 
 Administration and Domestic Liaisons of FinCEN for the in-
 person town halls and webinars described in paragraph

    (5) .

    (7) Any other activities the Director and the Administrator 
 determine necessary to increase the number of reporting 
 companies in compliance with beneficial ownership requirements.
            (c) Public Availability of Memorandum of Understanding.--Not later 
than 7 days after the date on which the Director and Administrator 
enter into a memorandum of understanding under subsection

    (b) , the 
Director and the Administrator shall each make the memorandum publicly 
available on a website of FinCEN and the Administration, respectively.
            (d) Meetings.--Not later than 6 months after the date on which the 
Director and Administrator enter into a memorandum of understanding 
under subsection

    (b) , and every 6 months thereafter, the Director (or a 
designee) and the Administrator (or a designee) shall review the 
following:

    (1) Issues related to, and continued coordination on, the 
 requirements of the memorandum.

    (2) Challenges associated with increasing the number of 
 reporting companies in compliance with beneficial ownership 
 requirements.

    (3) Reasons provided by reporting companies to covered 
 agencies for failing to comply with beneficial ownership 
 requirements.

    (4) Strategies for collaboration to address the reasons 
 described in paragraph

    (3) .

    (5) Any other topics the Director and the Administrator 
 determine necessary.

    (e) Compensation.--The Director (or a designee) and the 
Administrator (or a designee) may not receive compensation for 
attending a meeting required by subsection
            (d) .

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

 Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Director and 
Administrator enter into a memorandum of understanding under 

section 3

    (b) , and every 30 days thereafter, the Director and the Administrator 
shall jointly submit to the Committees on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 
and the Committees on Small Business and Financial Services of the 
House of Representatives a report that includes the following:

    (1) For the 30-day period preceding the date of the 
 report--
        (A) a description of the actions taken under the 
 memorandum of understanding to provide outreach to 
 reporting companies that are required to, but have 
 failed to, comply with beneficial ownership 
 requirements;
        (B) the estimated number of reporting companies 
 that have received covered information or other 
 assistance relating to beneficial ownership 
 requirements from the Administration or FinCEN as a 
 result of actions taken pursuant to the memorandum of 
 understanding; and
            (C) the number of reporting companies in compliance 
 with beneficial ownership requirements.

    (2) A description of the actions the Director and the 
 Administrator plan to take under the memorandum of 
 understanding during the 30-day period following the date of 
 the report to provide covered information to reporting 
 companies that have failed to comply with beneficial ownership 
 requirements.
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