STREAMLINE Act

Bill Number

S. 3017

Origin Chamber

Senate

Congress

119th Congress, Session 1

Policy Area

Finance and Financial Sector

Status

Introduced

Latest Action

2025-10-20: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Last Updated

2025-12-08T15:45:57Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose

The STREAMLINE Act aims to modernize and streamline financial reporting requirements under U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws by raising outdated monetary thresholds for certain transaction reports, adjusting them for inflation, and reviewing reporting processes to make them more efficient. This helps reduce unnecessary paperwork for legitimate businesses while preserving tools to detect illegal activities like money laundering.

Key Provisions

• Updates to Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs):
• The Secretary of the Treasury must issue regulations within 180 days of enactment to raise the reporting threshold from $10,000 to $30,000 for cash transactions over that amount, as required under sections 5313 and 5315 of title 31, U.S. Code (these sections mandate reports for large cash deposits or withdrawals at banks and similar institutions).
• Every 5 years thereafter, thresholds will be adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers, rounded to the nearest $1,000, effective January 1 following publication.
• Updates for Nonfinancial Businesses:
• Amends section 5331 of title 31, U.S. Code, to raise the $10,000 threshold to $30,000 for reports on cash received in trades or businesses not typically considered financial (e.g., retail stores or casinos).
• Adds a similar inflation adjustment every 5 years.
• Updates to Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs):
• Within 180 days, federal agencies must update SAR thresholds (under section 5318(g) of title 31, U.S. Code, which requires reports on potentially suspicious transactions) from $2,000 to $3,000 and from $5,000 to $10,000.
• Review and Reporting Requirements:
• Within 360 days, the Treasury Secretary must review CTR and SAR forms and processes, focusing on ways to aggregate (combine), prioritize, and automate reports for better detection of illicit finance.
• Update forms as needed, while complying with existing AML laws.
• Conduct ongoing reviews mandated by the 2020 Anti-Money Laundering Act and submit a report to Senate and House banking committees summarizing findings and recommending improvements.
• Rule of Construction:
• Clarifies that the Act does not limit the Treasury's authority to issue geographic targeting orders (temporary rules for high-risk areas) or to lower thresholds if legally justified.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Threshold Increases: Replaces fixed $10,000 CTR thresholds (unchanged since 1970) with $30,000, and adjusts SAR thresholds upward, reducing the number of routine reports for smaller transactions.
• Inflation Indexing: Introduces mandatory CPI-based adjustments every 5 years for CTR and nonfinancial reporting thresholds, ensuring they keep pace with rising costs (previously, thresholds were static and eroded by inflation).
• Process Modernization: Adds requirements for reviewing and potentially simplifying reporting forms, including automation, which builds on but expands the 2020 AML Act's review mandates.

Potential Impacts

• On Government Agencies: The Treasury Department and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will handle fewer low-value reports, freeing resources to focus on high-risk activities; however, they must invest in reviews, automation, and inflation updates.
• On Citizens and Businesses: Reduces compliance burdens for banks, retailers, and other entities by exempting more everyday transactions from reporting (e.g., a business won't need to file for $20,000 in cash sales instead of $10,000), potentially lowering costs and paperwork for small businesses and individuals.
• On International Relations: Minimal direct impact, but improved efficiency in U.S. AML reporting could enhance cooperation with global partners on cross-border financial crimes, as streamlined systems align with international standards like those from the Financial Action Task Force.

Main Stakeholders Affected

• Financial Institutions: Banks and money services will file fewer CTRs and SARs, easing operational costs but requiring updates to compliance systems.
• Nonfinancial Businesses: Retailers, casinos, and similar entities benefit from higher thresholds for cash reporting, reducing administrative hassle.
• Government Entities: Treasury Department, FinCEN, and federal regulators must implement changes and conduct reviews; congressional banking committees receive oversight reports.
• Law Enforcement and Regulators: Gain from prioritized, automated reports that better target illicit finance, though fewer reports might slightly narrow visibility into smaller suspicious patterns.
• General Public: Indirectly affected through potentially lower banking fees (from reduced compliance costs) and stronger focus on real threats like terrorism financing or drug trafficking.

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications

• Legal Implications: Strengthens AML framework by indexing thresholds to inflation, preventing outdated rules from becoming ineffective; preserves Treasury's flexibility to tighten rules in specific cases, avoiding challenges to enforcement powers. No alterations to core reporting obligations, so it complies with existing statutes like the Bank Secrecy Act.
• Constitutional Implications: None apparent; the changes involve administrative rulemaking under congressional authority over commerce and currency (Article I, Section 8), without infringing on privacy rights (as reports remain targeted at businesses, not individuals directly).
• Political Implications: Bipartisan support (introduced by Senators Kennedy, Scott, and others) reflects a push to modernize 50-year-old thresholds amid inflation concerns; could appeal to business-friendly lawmakers by cutting red tape, while critics might worry it weakens AML vigilance—though the Act's review provisions address efficiency without gutting protections.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA]

Cosponsors (8)

Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC], Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD], Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL], Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY], Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN], Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID], Sen. Moreno, Bernie [R-OH], Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE]

Recent Actions

• 2025-10-20: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
• 2025-10-20: Introduced in Senate

Bill Versions

• Streamlining Transaction Reporting and Ensuring Anti-Money Laundering Improvements for a New Era Act — issued 2025-10-20 — PDF (6 pages)