Democrats on the House and Senate banking committees introduced legislation that would more forcefully implement the Corporate Transparency Act after the Treasury said in March that it would not enforce the law’s ownership disclosure requirement. “The Corporate Transparency Act is still the law, and the Trump administration is wrong to stop enforcing it,” said Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., the bill’s author. “Turning a blind eye to anonymous shell companies leaves us vulnerable to fraud, corruption, and abuse. These shell companies don’t just enable white-collar crime — they hurt honest small businesses by rigging the system and exploiting programs meant for real entrepreneurs. This bill is about holding bad actors accountable while making sure small business owners have the information and support they need to follow the law.” The proposal, which is also cosponsored by the House financial services committee’s ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., would reinforce the CTA’s reporting requirements in a number of procedural moves. Within 90 days of the act’s enactment, the heads of the Treasury and the Small Business Administration would be required to enter into a memorandum of understanding to create a plan to provide outreach, education and fraud prevention tools in multiple languages to assist reporting companies. The agencies would also be required to submit status reports to the lawmakers’ respective committees. The Treasury said that it plans to narrow the scope of the regulations to apply only to foreign entities operating in the U.S.