Fireworks Trafficking and Money Laundering Prevention Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9013 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9013

    To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide that unlawful
 interstate transportation of fireworks is specified unlawful activity
          for purposes of laundering of monetary instruments.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2026

 Mr. Case (for himself and Ms. Tokuda) introduced the following bill;
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

    To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide that unlawful
 interstate transportation of fireworks is specified unlawful activity
          for purposes of laundering of monetary instruments.

    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 ``Fireworks Trafficking and Money
Laundering Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Illegal fireworks trafficking is a multifaceted
        criminal activity involving the transportation, distribution,
        and sale of explosive materials in violation of Federal and
        State laws.
            (2) Law enforcement actions across the United States have
        demonstrated that individuals engaged in illegal fireworks
        trafficking frequently participate in related financial crimes,
        including money laundering, and may accumulate substantial
        illicit proceeds and assets subject to forfeiture.
            (3) Investigations have revealed that illegal fireworks are
        often transported across state lines and sold at significant
        markups, creating highly profitable black-market operations
        that can persist over many years.
            (4) The use of illegal fireworks has resulted in numerous
        incidents causing serious injuries, mass casualty events, and
        fatalities, including some of the deadliest explosions and
        accidents in recent history.
            (5) Fireworks-related injuries place a significant burden
        on emergency response systems and healthcare infrastructure,
        with thousands of individuals requiring emergency medical
        treatment each year.
            (6) Illegal trafficking of fireworks poses substantial
        risks to public safety, as such explosives are often
        manufactured, transported, stored, and used without proper
        safety standards, increasing the likelihood of fires,
        explosions, injuries, and deaths.
            (7) Illegal fireworks trafficking is frequently linked to
        broader criminal activity, including drug trafficking,
        financial crimes, and organized criminal enterprises, which may
        use fireworks distribution networks to generate revenue,
        launder money, and evade law enforcement oversight.
            (8) The investigation and prosecution of illegal interstate
        fireworks trafficking are often constrained by the limited
        statutory penalties, which provide for a maximum term of
        imprisonment of one year, thereby reducing the prioritization
        of such offenses relative to more serious Federal crimes, and
        providing an insufficient disincentive to engage in illegal
        activity especially as compared to the large financial
        incentives to do so.
            (9) Designating illegal interstate fireworks trafficking as
        a specified unlawful activity for purposes of laundering of
        monetary instruments will strengthen law enforcement efforts by
        authorizing the application of Federal money laundering
        statutes to the proceeds of illegal fireworks trafficking,
        thereby enhancing investigative tools, disrupting criminal
        financial networks, and increasing the maximum term of
        imprisonment to up to twenty years.

SEC. 3. UNLAWFUL INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF FIREWORKS TO BE
              CONSIDERED SPECIFIED UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY FOR PURPOSES OF
              LAUNDERING OF MONETARY INSTRUMENTS.

    Section 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended
by inserting ``section 836 (relating to interstate transportation of
fireworks),'' after ``section 831 (relating to prohibited transactions
involving nuclear materials),''.
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