The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) has sent a letter urging the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to include H.R. 1799, the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act, in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The bipartisan legislation would modernize decades-old financial reporting thresholds under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), reducing outdated compliance burdens, strengthening consumer financial privacy, and enabling credit unions to better serve active-duty servicemembers, Guard and Reserve members, veterans, Department of Defense civilians, and military families.
Key provisions of H.R. 1799 include raising the Currency Transaction Report (CTR) threshold from $10,000 to $30,000, with adjustments for inflation every five years, and raising the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) threshold from $5,000 to $10,000, modernizing requirements that have remained unchanged since 1992.
“These moderate adjustments reflect decades of economic change,” says DCUC President/CEO Anthony Hernandez. “Updating these thresholds will reduce unnecessary filings, better protect consumers’ privacy, and allow credit unions to focus resources on serving their members — particularly the military community.”
DCUC’s letter noted that the Government Accountability Office (GAO), as mandated by the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, has recommended raising outdated reporting thresholds, noting that millions of reports generated annually provide little value to law enforcement. By indexing thresholds to inflation, H.R. 1799 would ensure reporting requirements remain effective and relevant over time.
Protecting Privacy and Enhancing Readiness
Modernizing these requirements will significantly reduce the volume of routine CTR and SAR filings, many of which capture ordinary financial activities such as car purchases or small business deposits. Fewer unnecessary reports will mean stronger financial privacy protections for consumers — particularly military families — while allowing law enforcement to better target suspicious activity.
“For credit unions, every hour spent on outdated compliance tasks is time taken away from serving servicemembers,” adds Jason Stverak, DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer. “This legislation will allow these institutions to reinvest resources into financial education, affordable credit, and emergency assistance for military families — directly contributing to financial readiness and national defense.”
“Credit unions have a long history of safeguarding the financial well-being of America’s armed forces. We strongly urge Congress to include the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act in the final FY2026 NDAA, ensuring that these overdue reforms are enacted without delay,” says Hernandez. “This is more than a regulatory update — it’s a commonsense modernization that strengthens financial privacy, reduces compliance burdens, and supports the financial resilience of our troops.”