Congressman Patrick McHenry took to the floor of the House today to criticize the actions of President Joe Biden regarding his veto of HJ Res. 109 as well as the inability of FIT21 – digital asset legislation – to become law.
McHenry noted that HJ Res. 109 had strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, yet President Biden decided to squash the resolution. Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121) is a mandate issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was described by McHenry as requiring “financial institutions and firms that are safeguarding their customers’ digital assets to hold those assets on their balance sheet, making it cost-prohibitive to do so.” Effectively, the SEC boxed out banks from the business.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has described SAB 121 as “another manifestation of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s scattershot and inefficient approach to crypto.”
The Senate’s bipartisan approval of the Resolution is testimony to the belief that the SEC surpassed its authority. At the same time, it is indicative of the control the extreme left holds over the Biden administration.
As for FIT21 [Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act], 208 Republicans were joined by 71 Democrats to approve the bill in the House. The legislation seeks to provide regulatory clarity for digital assets in the US as well as consumer protection. McHenry is attempting to persuade members to over-turn the President’s veto – a difficult task.
McHenry stated today:
“The Biden Administration has been given every opportunity to work with Congress on digital asset policy. In May, Congress passed a resolution to overturn the SEC’s SAB 121 with broad bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. A lot has changed since then. Following that vote, the House passed historic digital asset market structure legislation, FIT21, with an overwhelming two-thirds support. That means 71 Members of the President’s own party voted for that bill. Today’s vote should mirror the support for FIT21, given that this policy change was also in that legislation. SAB 121 is one of the most glaring examples of the regulatory overreach that has defined Gary Gensler’s tenure at the SEC.”
Recently, former President Donald Trump revealed his support of crypto as the GOP released their policy agenda if they should retake the Executive branch of government. While it is unclear how much additional support from the electorate this may garner there have been several prominent individuals in Fintech to voice their support of the former President.