The reports made apparent that federal agencies want even greater financial surveillance than what already exists. From the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 to the Biden administration’s proposal to monitor bank accounts with balances of just $600 (subsequently increased to $10,000), the government, for decades, has been (all too often) successful in its efforts to chip away at financial privacy. Yet it appears the U.S. government’s taste for surveillance is a hunger that cannot be satiated.
Because it is illegal in cases with suspicious-activity reports (SARs) and currency-transaction reports (CTRs), for example, for financial institutions to notify customers when the government wants their records, many Americans are not aware that financial surveillance is expanding. However, the DOJ does recognize this fact, and to continue its efforts unseen, it has recommended expanding such laws to cover cryptocurrency services. Not one to waste an opportunity, the DOJ also recommended that the laws be expanded to a host of other areas completely unrelated to cryptocurrency.
Even as the U.S. has become the global leader in oil-and-gas production, residents of the Northeast and East Coast still depend on foreign energy because of the Jones Act. Analysts estimate that it costs three times more to ship oil from Texas refineries to the East Coast than it does to ship oil from Canada. Shifting oil supply has significant economic implications, with one study finding that Jones Act requirements cost the U.S. petroleum industry $298 million a year, after adjusting for inflation.
Liquefied natural gas faces similar Jones Act–related challenges. In regions such as New England, where pipelines are not readily available, it is cheaper to import natural gas from Norway or Trinidad and Tobago than Texas. Likewise, Puerto Rico is unable to import any liquefied natural gas from the U.S. mainland because there are no liquefied-gas carriers that meet Jones Act requirements.