S. 52 — Introduced in Senate

II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 52 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 7, 2015Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To close the loophole that allowed the 9/11 hijackers to obtain credit cards from United States banks that financed their terrorist activities, to ensure that illegal immigrants cannot obtain credit cards to evade United States immigration laws, and for other purposes. 1. Verification of identity for non-United States persons opening bank accounts (a) In general Section 5318(l) of title 31, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (6) as paragraphs (4) through (7), respectively; and (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: (3) Restrictions on verifying identity (A) Customer information For the purpose of verifying the identity of an individual who is a non-United States person seeking to open an account in accordance with the regulations issued under this section, a financial institution may only accept— (i) a social security number; (ii) a passport number and the country of issuance; (iii) an alien identification card number; or (iv) any combination of items described in clauses (i) through (iii). (B) Customer verification through documents For the purpose of verifying the identity of an individual who is a non-United States person seeking to open an account in accordance with regulations issued under this section, a financial institution may not accept identification documents issued by a foreign government, other than an unexpired passport. (C) Definition As used in this paragraph, the term non-United States person means any individual that is not a citizen or national of the United States, as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). . (b) Conforming amendment Section 5318(l)(6) of title 31, United States Code, as redesignated by this section, is amended by striking (4) and inserting (5).