Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on the committee and on this issue and for yielding me this time.

The opportunity that we have today here to present the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act is a very important moment.

I also want to thank my colleagues, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Budd) and also the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen), who have also contributed hard work in developing and cosponsoring this legislation.

Foreign dictators who rob the treasuries of developing nations, where independent judiciaries are rare, and the rule of law is often weak, is not a new problem; but, unfortunately, it is a growing problem.

It is now estimated that more than $1 trillion is lost to bribes and official corruption around the world each year. A significant portion of those illicit proceeds are used to support organized crime and terrorist organizations, further destabilizing the social institutions where this corruption occurs, often in developing countries who can least afford it.

This undermines the local rule of law and contributes to the regional insecurity and instabilities in neighboring countries.

Governments that are weakened by corruption have fewer resources to provide basic services, to establish a stable business climate, and to create jobs. They also have fewer resources to devote to building strong law enforcement and judicial institutions to combat exploitation by terrorists and criminal organizations.

It is a sad fact that today much of this stolen money ends up here, in bank accounts right here in the United States.

H.R. 389 fights back against the spreading influence of this corruption. The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act establishes a rewards program to incentivize individuals to notify law enforcement and authorities of assets stolen from foreign treasuries and illegally transferred to the United States.

Now, I appreciate the gentleman's concerns about making sure that bad actors don't participate in this incentive program.

This program replicates the incentives that have been utilized by the United States Department of Justice and the FBI for decades to take down criminal drug cartels with the help of paid informants.

While the United States has many effective programs to reward individuals who provide valuable information toward curbing criminal behavior, none of our programs currently have been designed to take aim at recovering stolen assets linked to foreign government kleptocracy.

Kleptocracy by foreign leaders can drain the hope and faith of struggling peoples around the globe who strive for social justice and equal rights.

This bill recognizes that foreign corruption takes many forms and that individuals who come forward to expose corruption often do so at great personal peril to themselves and to their families.

So, as transnational criminal enterprises persist, and terrorists adapt to the different mechanisms that we use, we must provide law enforcement with fresh tools to address these emerging threats.

H.R. 389 does exactly that.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank, again, the chairwoman for her cooperation and leadership. I thank my colleagues on the other side, especially Mr. Budd, for his work on this bill as well. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working with me on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote.

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