H-3998              _______________________________________________

                                            HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 39

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representatives Isaacson, P. King, Winsley, Nealey, Fuhrman, West, May, Lewis, Tilly and Long

Read first time 1/24/86 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

TO THE HONORABLE RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

          We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

          WHEREAS, The youth of our country have had grievous and heinous crimes perpetrated upon them by drug traffickers; and

          WHEREAS, The flow of money through banking and financial institutions provides incentives to the drug traffickers; and

          WHEREAS, A state of emergency exists within the United States banking system as a result of the laundering of drug profits through legitimate financial institutions; and

          WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice, currently under the direction of Attorney General Edwin Meese, has consistently refrained from prosecuting chief executive officers and other directing officials of some of America's largest banks and other financial institutions for their protection of laundered drug profits; and

          WHEREAS, It has been found in repeated government investigations and prosecutions of drug traffickers that federal banks, state banks, and other financial institutions are being used to launder profits and proceeds from drug trafficking, particularly through deposits or transactions of cash and subsequent wire transfer of said profits and proceeds to foreign territories; and

          WHEREAS, Nations such as Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Mexico are now engaged in a war on the growth and production of illegal narcotics within their own borders; and

          WHEREAS, The President's Commission on Organized Crime has recommended enactment of laws  to make drug money laundering a criminal offense.

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the federal government enforce all existing laws against drug trafficking and money laundering, and that the Congress of the United States of America enact legislation to explicitly make the laundering of drug money a criminal offense.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.