Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) spoke in support of his amendment to H.R. 2513, the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019.

His Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

“This amendment requires an annual report to Congress of anonymized, aggregate data on the number of beneficial owners per reporting corporation or limited liability company, the industry of each reporting corporation or limited liability company, and the location of the beneficial owners.

One of the greatest beneficiaries of the crisis on our southern border is the cartels and coyotes charging $6,000 to $10,000 to smuggle people into our country who do not have legal documentation. Despite the danger, these individuals borrow money from family members to pay cartels and coyotes. If they make it into the United States, they send remittances home through legitimate financial transactions to pay back their family loans.

Throughout this process the coyotes and cartels are making a significant amount of money off of these vulnerable individuals. While many of them likely deal mostly in cash, the possibility exists that they are using shell companies to store or move this illicit money.

Providing data to Congress on how many beneficial owners are behind a company, the industries of the reporting companies, and the locations of the beneficial owners will help identify trends and patterns could aid the fight to combat money laundering and the financing of human smuggling.

We should not be facilitating coyotes and cartels taking advantage of desperate people. Providing this aggregate, anonymized data to Congress will provide some transparency on the networks behind the illicit financing of human and drug smuggling and other nefarious financial activities.

I urge support of this amendment.”

After Burgess spoke on the floor, the House of Representatives passed the amendment by a vote of 395 to 23.  

To view his remarks, click here.