H.R. 8172

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8172 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8172

To restrict the repatriation of funds by noncitizens receiving Federal 
benefits, to require verification and certification of compliance, and 
to establish a centralized database within the Department of the 
Treasury for monitoring, enforcement, and reporting.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 2, 2026

Mrs. Fischbach (for herself and Mr. Stauber) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a 
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned

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A BILL

To restrict the repatriation of funds by noncitizens receiving Federal 
benefits, to require verification and certification of compliance, and 
to establish a centralized database within the Department of the 
Treasury for monitoring, enforcement, and reporting.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Benefits Repatriation 
Verification Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual'' 
means a noncitizen who is a recipient of Federal benefits.
(2) Federal benefits.--The term ``Federal benefits'' means 
any monetary or in-kind assistance provided by a Federal 
agency, including benefits under the Social Security Act, SNAP, 
TANF, Medicaid, Federal housing assistance, unemployment 
insurance, and any comparable program.
(3) Noncitizen.--The term ``noncitizen'' means any 
individual who is not a citizen or national of the United 
States.
(4) Repatriation of funds.--The term ``repatriation of 
funds'' means the transfer, remittance, or transmission of 
monetary assets from within the United States to any foreign 
individual, institution, or account outside of the territorial 
United States, whether conducted through electronic transfer, 
wire services, mobile applications, cryptocurrency exchanges, 
banks, or informal value transfer systems.
(5) Treasury repatriation verification database.--The term 
``Treasury Repatriation Verification Database'' means the 
secure system established under section 5.

SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON REPATRIATION OF FUNDS BY COVERED INDIVIDUALS.

(a) Repatriation Limit.--A noncitizen may not transfer any monetary 
asset from within the United States to any other noncitizen, entity, or 
account outside of the United States in an amount that exceeds $1,000 
during any 12-month period during which the noncitizen is a recipient 
of a Federal public benefit.
(b) Condition of Benefit Eligibility.--Compliance with subsection 
(a) shall be a condition of continued eligibility for any Federal 
benefit program. A noncitizen who violates subsection (a) shall be 
ineligible to receive any Federal public benefit.
(c) Certification Requirement.--Covered individuals shall annually 
certify compliance with the repatriation limit as part of their 
continued benefits eligibility review. On an annual basis, a noncitizen 
who is a recipient of a Federal public benefit shall certify to the 
relevant agency, as part of verification of their eligibility, that the 
individual has not violated subsection (a). A noncitizen who fails to 
submit such a certification shall be ineligible to receive the Federal 
public benefit.
(d) Verification Requirement.--Federal agencies administering 
benefits shall coordinate with the Department of the Treasury to verify 
that covered individuals are in compliance with subsection (a). The 
Secretary of the Treasury shall coordinate with the head of each 
Federal agency that administers a Federal public benefit in carrying 
out this section.

SEC. 4. DUTIES OF FINANCIAL AND REMITTANCE INSTITUTIONS.

(a) Mandatory Reporting.--Any financial institution, money service 
business, remittance provider, or cryptocurrency exchange operating in 
the United States shall report all repatriation transactions made by 
covered individuals to the Department of the Treasury.
(b) Real-Time Verification.--Institutions described in subsection 
(a) shall query the Treasury Repatriation Verification Database to 
determine whether a proposed transfer would cause a covered individual 
to exceed the repatriation limit before processing the transaction.
(c) Transaction Denial.--If the Treasury Repatriation Verification 
Database indicates that the repatriation limit has been or would be 
exceeded, the institution must deny the transaction and report the 
attempted transfer.
(d) Compliance Requirements.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
issue regulations specifying the format, frequency, and method of 
reporting and verification.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TREASURY REPATRIATION VERIFICATION 
DATABASE.

(a) Creation.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish and 
maintain a secure, centralized database to be known as the ``Treasury 
Repatriation Verification Database''.
(b) Contents.--The Treasury Repatriation Verification Database 
shall include--
(1) identification data for all covered individuals;
(2) records of all repatriation transactions and attempted 
transactions by covered individuals;
(3) real-time calculation of repatriation totals; and
(4) compliance flags and eligibility indicators accessible 
to authorized Federal and State agencies.
(c) Data Sharing.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide 
appropriate, privacy-compliant access to the Treasury Repatriation 
Verification Database to--
(1) Federal benefit-administering agencies;
(2) State agencies administering federally funded aid; and
(3) financial and remittance institutions subject to 
section 4.
(d) Privacy and Security.--All data collection and sharing must 
comply with applicable Federal privacy laws and cybersecurity 
standards. The Secretary shall implement encryption, access controls, 
and audit trails.

SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.

(a) Benefit Suspension.--An individual who violates section 3 shall 
have their Federal benefits suspended until compliance is 
reestablished.
(b) Recoupment.--Federal agencies may recover improper payments 
made during any period of noncompliance.
(c) Institutional Penalties.--Any institution failing to comply 
with section 4 may be subject to--
(1) civil penalties not to exceed $25,000 per violation; 
and
(2) additional penalties for willful or repeated violations 
as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.

SEC. 7. RULEMAKING.

Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with Federal benefit-
administering agencies, shall issue regulations necessary to carry out 
this Act.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act shall take effect two years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, except that the Secretary of the Treasury may begin 
regulatory and database development activities immediately.
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