OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Press Releases - Congresswoman Gwen Moore Introduces Bill to End Bureaucratic Infighting that Undercuts the Financial War on Terror

Date: Sept. 22, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security


Congresswoman Gwen Moore Introduces Bill to End Bureaucratic Infighting that Undercuts the Financial War on Terror

Bill Resolves Turf Wars within Bush Administration to More Effectively Combat Terrorist Financing

(Washington, DC)— Democrats introduced the Counter Terrorism Financing Coordination Act today, led by Congresswoman Gwen Moore, to require the Departments of State and Treasury within the Bush Administration to work together to more effectively train vulnerable countries to dismantle terrorist financing networks. The new bill, cosponsored by Ranking Member Barney Frank (D-MA) and Congressman David Scott (D-GA), will direct the Bush Administration to resolve turf wars and end bureaucratic infighting that have raised questions about the efficiency of the U.S. government's efforts to assist other countries in the war on terrorism.

Specifically, the bill will require the Secretaries of State and Treasury to adopt recommendations of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in regard to the specific roles of each agency in the delivery of counter-terrorism financing training and technical assistance to countries abroad. The Bush administration has ignored the problem for years, failing to resolve it after a GAO report released in 2005 discovered that these agencies lacked an integrated strategy to coordinate training and technical assistance efforts. The GAO also reported that the two key agencies involved in these efforts, Treasury and State, cannot even agree with each other on their respective roles.

"We can cut terrorists off at the knees by ensuring that vulnerable countries do not become financial safe havens for groups that seek to harm Americans," said Congresswoman Moore. "However, we can't afford to let any potential tactic or strategy in the war on terror slip through a bureaucratic crack. When it comes to saving American lives, we've got to use our resources and expertise to their utmost efficiency and the Counter-Terrorist Financing Coordination Act allows us to do so."

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://www.house.gov/list/press/wi04_moore/pr060922.html

arrow_upward