Financial Privacy Act of 2025
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Would require the Treasury Department to report annually to Congress on how many Bank Secrecy Act reports FinCEN collects and retains, how government agencies access that data, and how often access is denied — bringing new public accountability to a database covering hundreds of millions of financial records.
The bill responds to concerns that FinCEN's vast collection of transaction reports and beneficial ownership data about ordinary Americans operates with limited congressional visibility into who accesses it and why.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would add a new section (31 U.S.C. § 5327) to federal law requiring the Treasury Secretary to submit annual reports to Congress on FinCEN's Bank Secrecy Act data holdings. Each report would have to state the number and type of reports filed since January 1, 2022, the total number retained, and details about written protocols governing access by national security, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies — including the number of agency queries, and any denials or revocations of access with explanations. The Treasury Secretary would also be required to annually review and revise those access protocols in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General, with the goals of aligning data sharing with authorized law-enforcement purposes and protecting the civil liberties of U.S. persons.
The bill would also entitle the chair or ranking member of the relevant House and Senate committees to request copies of any access protocols, and would require Treasury to furnish revised protocols to those committees within 30 days of any change. All provisions of the new section would automatically expire seven years after enactment.
Key provisions
- 1Would require Treasury to submit annual reports to Congress listing the number and type of Bank Secrecy Act reports filed with FinCEN since January 1, 2022, and the total number retained.
- 2Would require the annual report to describe written protocols governing agency access to FinCEN data, including query counts, access denials, and revocations, with reasons.
- 3Would require Treasury to annually review and revise agency-access protocols, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General, to protect civil liberties and privacy rights of U.S. persons.
- 4Would entitle the chair or ranking member of the relevant congressional committees to request copies of any access protocols at any time.
- 5Would require Treasury to transmit any revised protocols to the relevant House and Senate committees within 30 days of revision.
- 6Would automatically repeal the new section and all its requirements at the end of the seven-year period beginning on enactment.
Who would be affected
The Department of the Treasury and FinCEN, which would bear the new annual reporting and protocol-review obligations. National security, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies that request access to FinCEN data would have their queries tracked and disclosed to Congress. Individuals and businesses — including the roughly 32 million companies initially subject to beneficial ownership reporting — whose financial data FinCEN holds would gain indirect privacy protections through increased oversight.
Why it matters
FinCEN holds hundreds of millions of financial reports on ordinary Americans and companies. Currently, Congress receives limited visibility into how often agencies query that data or are turned down. If enacted, the annual reports and protocol reviews would create a documented oversight record, giving legislators — and indirectly the public — a clearer picture of government surveillance of financial activity and a lever to push back on overly broad data sharing.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code (Bank Secrecy Act framework) (Sec. 3)
Inserts a new section 5327 adding annual congressional reporting requirements and mandatory protocol reviews for FinCEN data access; provision sunsets after seven years.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- First annual report to Congress due
- All provisions of new 31 U.S.C. § 5327 automatically repealed
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that H.R. 1602, the Financial Privacy Act of 2025, would cost $1 million over the 2025–2030 period, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1602 would cost approximately $1 million over the 2025–2030 period, reflecting the need for roughly one additional staff member per year at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to fulfill the bill's reporting and protocol-review requirements. This spending would be discretionary — subject to the availability of appropriated funds — and would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the federal deficit. The bill's requirements expire seven years after enactment. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
Treasury would have 180 days from enactment to file the first report and must repeat the exercise every year, covering FinCEN filings back to January 1, 2022. In parallel, Treasury must conduct an annual review of agency-access protocols in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General, revising them as needed. Revised protocols must be transmitted to the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee within 30 days; either committee's chair or ranking member may request a copy at any time. All obligations under the new section lapse automatically seven years after enactment.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 14.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to annually report to Congress details of reports made to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN collects reports on suspicious financial transactions and the beneficial ownership of companies in order to detect financial crimes, including money laundering.
Under the bill, FinCEN must report on the number and types of reports and whether they are retained by FinCEN, any guidance regarding outside agency access to these reports, agency requests for these reports, and any denials of access to these reports.
Treasury must annually review access guidance and revise as appropriate to protect the legal rights of U.S persons, among other objectives.
Legislative subjects
Congressional oversight; Corporate finance and management; Finance and Financial Sector; Fraud offenses and financial crimes; Government information and archives; Government studies and investigations; Right of privacy
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-24