Regulation
House of Representatives’ McHenry Says Senate Could Be Swayed If Many Democrats Support Crypto Bill
The outcome of next week’s expected vote on U.S. legislation to regulate the cryptocurrency industry will heavily influence the chances of the U.S. Senate signing on, said Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), chairman of the Services Committee. House financiers and a prominent advocate for crypto legislation during the final months of his congressional career.
The thing to watch, he suggested, is to see if many Democrats come out to support the bill.
McHenry, who is expected to retire at the end of the year, has made digital asset legislation a top priority for the end of his term on Capitol Hill. To this end, the House has seen a number of recent successes on cryptocurrency, from the passage of several relevant bills by the McHenry committee to the advancing a congressional effort to overturn the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crypto accounting policies.
But the House’s top digital asset bill is the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or FIT21, which is heading toward a long-awaited vote for final approval in the House of Representatives in next days. It’s the most complete The US crypto bill will advance this far in Congress and, if approved in a bipartisan vote in the House, will represent a high point for the industry’s efforts in Washington.
“We will bring this bill to the House next week for a vote,” McHenry said during the news conference. DC Blockchain Summit Wednesday. “The outcome of this vote will determine what kind of attention it receives in the Senate and whether or not we can move things forward.”
However, the bill is not yet expected to gain traction in the Senate, meaning it would not be immediately close to becoming law. However, McHenry suggested “who knows what’s going to happen” in the so-called lame duck session of Congress between the November elections and the end of the session, when legislation has a way of hanging on to government bills. unrelated law.
Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), who heads a crypto subcommittee and is among the candidates who could replace McHenry in his chair seat, said Wednesday at the same event that he was optimistic about the outcome of the vote of the Chamber on FIT21. One of the main reasons: 21 Democrats chose to vote to overturn the SEC’s controversial crypto accounting provision – Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, or SAB 121 – despite President Joe Biden’s threat to veto this effort.
“I’m optimistic and expect strong Democratic support,” Hill said of FIT21. “This one is about the future.”
Hill said this also responds to President Biden’s executive order from earlier in his term that called for legislation in this area.
McHenry acknowledged that getting so many Democrats to oppose the White House and the SEC on the accounting rule was “a big thing.” At least one Senate Democrat — Kirsten Gillibrand of New York — has said she would. support the resolution to cancel the ballot during Thursday’s vote.