Today the Senate Banking Committee held a markup session on the long awaited Clarity Act for market infrastructure for the crypto and DeFi sector. The bill passed with a vote of 15 to 9, with all Republicans voting in favor alongside two Democrats, Senators Gallego and Alsobrooks. Democrat Committee members proposed numerous amendments, all of which were rejected. A handful of changes from Republican Senator Lummis were negotiated earlier in the day with some Democrats, with all passing with 18 or 19 votes each. The additional support mainly came from Senators Cortez Masto, Warner and Warnock.
Several of the Democrats that voted for bill or the Lummis amendments expressed a desire to see the passage of legislation. But they made clear their support was not guaranteed in a final Senate vote, with most citing the need for ethics clauses.
Senator Alsobrooks spoke about the influence of her 20 year old daughter’s interest in the crypto sector. “The truth is this digital revolution is happening with us or without us. Whether or not we regulate it to create the rules of the road or not, it is here”. But she added “I want to be abundantly clear, my vote today is a vote to keep working in good faith. It does not mean I’ll be voting for the passage of the Clarity Act on the floor, because we have so much work to do.” She then referred to the need for ethics clauses and highlight concerns by the law enforcement sector. Alsobrooks has worked with Republican Senator Tillis on the stablecoin rewards clause. He made some notable comments on that.
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