Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement during a full Committee hearing entitled, “Oversight of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI).”

Thank you very much Mr. Chairman and I’d like to welcome Undersecretary Nelson and Director Gacki. Good morning. Right now, our national security is being increasingly challenged all across the globe. We see it in Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine and NATO, and in the trafficking of deadly fentanyl from China. And we see it with the rise of white nationalist extremists who threaten elected officials and government workers. These nation-state adversaries and homegrown terrorists and their destabilizing bad acts are directly making threats to the American-led peace and prosperity that has existed since the end of World War 2. So, it is so important that we discuss how the Treasury plays a role in countering these national security threats, and why it is so important they have the resources necessary to confront these challenges.

In fact, Committee Democrats have worked to address these threats. That is why in 2020, under my leadership, Committee Democrats led the bipartisan effort to pass landmark financial crimes legislation, including the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the Corporate Transparency Act of 2020. While there’s still more to do, through these laws, we have empowered Treasury and its partners to make significant progress in bringing bad actors to justice.

Unfortunately, Marjorie Taylor Greene and extreme MAGA Republicans are working just as hard to undo this progress. Not only are they politicizing critical national-security decisions at the direction of the twice-impeached, four-times criminally indicted former President, but the GOP is also trying to undercut those in our government who protect the United States.

Republicans don’t want you know to that it was Treasury that brought the criminal crypto exchange, Binance, and its executives to justice, with a $4.3 billion dollar settlement for taxpayers. Republicans don’t want you to know how valuable the Bank Secrecy Act data is, and how it has led to the arrests of human traffickers, fentanyl dealers, and fraudsters on a regular basis. And they don’t want the public to know that it is Treasury that has been sanctioning Iran and Russia, and busting shell companies so Russian oligarchs can’t hide their stolen funds in the U.S.

Ultimately, Mr. Chairman, extreme MAGA Republicans are the biggest threat to our national and economic security as they continue to undermine aid to our allies, threaten the funding of vital programs for countless Americans, and dismantle the ability of the House of Representatives to function as it should under the Constitution. While Democrats continue to put people, peace, and prosperity over politics, MAGA Republicans prioritize only one person: Donald Trump.

If my Republican colleagues are serious about combating oligarchs, fraudsters, fentanyl kingpins, and Hamas terrorists, then they must support increased – not drastically reduced –funding and authorities for Treasury and other national security agencies.

Thank you very much and I yield back the balance of my time.

###