Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Ranking Member on the House Financial Service Committee, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Ed Markey (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee; and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), introduced new bicameral legislation to help small businesses comply with beneficial ownership reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and push back against the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken the law.

The FinCEN–SBA Coordination on Beneficial Ownership Registration Act would require the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to coordinate directly on outreach and education to help small business owners understand and meet their reporting obligations under the CTA.

“The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a strongly bipartisan law designed to bust the U.S. registered anonymous shell companies that are abused by fentanyl dealers, Iranian terrorists, financial scammers and more to launder and hide their illicit finances. By ignoring this intent and gutting the law, President Trump and Secretary Bessent are gifting these bad actors a free pass to continue exploiting the system, while leaving consumers, investors, and small businesses who play by the rules in harm’s way,” said Congresswoman Waters.

“The Corporate Transparency Act is still the law, and the Trump administration is wrong to stop enforcing it,” said Congresswoman Velázquez. “Turning a blind eye to anonymous shell companies leaves us vulnerable to fraud, corruption, and abuse. These shell companies don’t just enable white-collar crime—they hurt honest small businesses by rigging the system and exploiting programs meant for real entrepreneurs. This bill is about holding bad actors accountable while making sure small business owners have the information and support they need to follow the law.”

“Anonymous shell companies hurt honest small businesses and open the door to fraud and abuse. The Trump Administration should be working with small businesses, not refusing to enforce the Corporate Transparency Act,” said Senator Warren. “Small businesses deserve a system that works for them — not for scammers and cheats – and that’s why our bill would require the Administration to work with them as part of implementing the law.”

“The Trump Administration is allowing bad actors to get away with illicit activities and financial crimes, and we must make sure they do not get away with disregarding the law,” said Ranking Member Markey. “I am grateful for Ranking Member Velazquez’s partnership in introducing the Corporate Transparency Act to crack down on bad actors while giving small businesses the tools to succeed.”

Originally passed with bipartisan support, the CTA was designed to crack down on shell companies used to facilitate money laundering, tax evasion, terrorism financing, and other illicit activities. But earlier this year, the Trump administration suspended enforcement for U.S. companies and proposed changes to dramatically narrow the law’s scope.

The reporting requirements are minimal for the vast majority of small businesses, 82 percent of which are non-employer firms with only one beneficial owner. FinCEN has previously projected the average cost to file would be about $85, roughly equal to what many states charge to register a business. However, outreach during the initial rollout was limited, and confusion about the law remains persistent.

This legislation would help spread awareness and increase compliance with CTA among small businesses by:

1. Requiring FinCEN and the SBA to sign a formal agreement within 90 days to coordinate outreach;
   
2. Distributing guidance in English, Spanish, and other commonly spoken languages;
   
3. Using SBA field offices and partners to host webinars and town halls;
   
4. Developing strategies to protect small businesses from scams and fraud;
   
5. Submitting monthly updates to Congress on outreach and compliance.
   

For a full copy of the bill, click here.

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