Bangladesh, April 22 -- A deeply contested effort is underway in Washington to dismantle one of the United States most significant anti–money laundering laws, the Corporate Transparency Act. In a narrowly divided vote, a Republican-led House committee has taken the first formal step toward repealing key provisions of the law, triggering an intense political and policy debate over financial transparency, regulatory burden, and national security.

The House Financial Services Committee voted 26–25 along largely partisan lines to advance legislation that would effectively replace the existing framework with a more limited disclosure regime. The proposed bill, known as the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act, seeks to exempt Ameri...