Reps. Flood & Hern at the Washington Reporter: Landmark Legislation and a Bright Future for America’s Digital Economy

For the past four years, the digital asset industry was under assault by the Biden administration and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s hostile posture towards America’s emergent digital economy.

When President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance took office, they promised to work with Congress to update the law and usher in a new “golden age” for digital assets and blockchain technology.

This week, House Republicans are following through on that promise with the passage of three landmark bills that empower Americans over bureaucracy and keep the U.S. competitive in global markets.

The GENIUS Act provides a clear regulatory framework for dollar backed stablecoins, the CLARITY Act provides regulatory certainty for the broader digital asset marketplace, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act ensures that the Federal Reserve is prohibited from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) directly to Americans to protect citizens’ privacy and prevent future surveillance of Americans’ personal transactions.

All three bills will work together to fulfil President Trump’s promise to make America a hub for digital asset innovation.

Republicans understand the importance of blockchain technology to make payments more efficient, provide greater economic opportunity and build the next generation of the internet — Web 3.0. It is crucial that we turn the page from the backwards, anti-technology approach of the Biden administration and embrace the next generation of digital asset technology.

From the start, President Joe Biden’s tenure was hostile to digital assets. On March 9, 2022, President Biden issued EO 14067 which required his administration to begin exploring the potential for the U.S. to produce a CBDC, opening the door for government surveillance on Americans’ finances. Similarly, on April 11, 2022, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 — a regulation that effectively precluded banks from holding digital assets for their clients. This action was so egregious it prompted a bipartisan vote to repeal it via the Congressional Review Act. That repeal effort was even supported by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) in the Senate before it was ultimately vetoed by President Biden.

SEC Chairman Gensler continued his anti-crypto crusade when he took legal action against a wide range of crypto firms on speculative grounds — often embarrassing himself and the SEC in the process in court.

For nearly the entirety of United States history, innovation and America have been synonymous. Through hard work, ingenuity, and invention, the American people — not the federal government — have created and fueled the greatest economy in the history of the world.

House Republican policy will continue to support American innovators, promote greater economic prosperity, and prevent government intrusion into the privacy of American citizens.

Rep. Kevin Hern chairs the Republican Policy Committee and sits on the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Mike Flood is a member of the Republican Policy Committee and the House Financial Services Committee.