Overview
- Sen. Bernie Moreno introduced the Stopping Transfers of Public Funds Abroad Act, which has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee and currently lists no cosponsors.
- The measure would bar recipients of federal public assistance from sending money overseas via remittance transfers as defined under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
- Applicants and reapplicants would have to sign declarations and certify under penalty of perjury that they will not make such transfers while receiving benefits, with violations subject to civil fines up to $100,000.
- Covered programs include SNAP, TANF and SSI, and the restrictions would take effect 30 days after enactment if the bill becomes law.
- Supporters point to recent Minnesota fraud cases and stepped-up FinCEN scrutiny of certain money transfers, while critics highlight enforcement hurdles and the scale of remittances, which the Federal Reserve estimates reached about $818 billion globally in 2023.