Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that the CLARITY Act will not be stalled by ethical concerns; the real uncertainty lies in whether Democrats are willing to support moving the process forward. The Senate is scheduled to vote on a procedural motion on September 15, which will determine whether the bill can proceed to formal debate.
File a procedural motion on September 15.
This vote concerns the cloture motion on H.R. 3633, not the final vote on the CLARITY Act. If the motion passes, the Senate may proceed with further consideration.
The Republican Party currently holds 53 seats in the Senate, and the motion requires 60 votes to pass. This means that even if all Republicans support it, at least seven Democratic or independent senators would still need to vote in favor.
Lummis said that if this step fails, the reason will not be ethical controversy, but rather the Democrats’ refusal to join a bipartisan bill she described as balancing consumer protection with industry growth.
The bill has passed the Banking Committee.
The CLARITY Act previously passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 15 to 9, receiving bipartisan support. Lummis stated that the United States needs to establish clearer regulatory rules for digital assets as soon as possible to maintain its leadership in the industry.
She also criticized some of the current amendment proposals from the Democratic Party, which could grant future regulators excessive discretion over the cryptocurrency industry. She believes there is still room for negotiation on the existing differences, but only if the other side is willing to compromise.
If the procedural motion on September 15 fails to pass, the likelihood of the bill advancing further during this session will significantly decrease, placing greater negotiation pressure on both parties in Congress.
The CLARITY Act proposes to adjust regulatory responsibilities.
According to Lummis, the CLARITY Act will establish a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets by delineating the responsibilities between the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
She also mentioned the issue of customer reimbursement following the collapse of FTX, noting that due to the lack of clear legal guidelines for handling digital asset bankruptcies, some customers have waited years to gradually recover their funds. Under the design of this bill, digital assets would be treated as customer property.
Lummis also stated that the U.S. needs to regulate and retain the crypto industry under domestic rules to protect consumers and encourage businesses to continue growing in the U.S. She warned that every delay in passing the bill could undermine America’s leadership in the digital assets space.
Additional information: Coinpedia previously reported that Lummis warned that if this round of market structure legislation fails, the next major opportunity for progress may not come until 2030.