Pro-crypto Congressman Tom Emmer is introducing an amendment aimed at denying the US Securities Commission the ability to use government funds to pursue cryptocurrency enforcement.
On November 8, Emmer attached an amendment to H.R. 4664 – the General Government Financial Services and Appropriations Act, or federal budget.
The amendment, which was approved without opposition, prohibits the SEC from using funds for enforcement activities related to digital asset transactions until Congress passes future legislation giving the agency jurisdiction to do so.
My amendment prohibits the SEC from using taxpayer-funded resources to pursue enforcement actions against the digital asset industry until Congress passes legislation authorizing regulatory enforcement authority.
– Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) November 8, 2023
Although the amendment is moving forward, the House budget in which it is included will need to face the reconciliation committee before it can be passed.
In a statement issued on November 8, Emmer suggested that the Justice Department, the Treasury Department and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control could deal with “future bad actors like FTX.”
“SEC Chairman Gensler cannot continue to abuse the powers of his agency to advance the political agenda of driving a new and promising digital asset industry abroad.”
Republican lawmakers are trying to cut funding across all federal agencies.
On November 7, Rep. Tim Burchett attacked Gensler and others by proposing an amendment that would cut the SEC chairman’s salary to $1. Burchett also suggested cutting the pay of other officials who have drawn GOP ire.
House Republicans are once again ready to run the “Holman Rule” machine, this time on H.R. 4664 — to cut the salaries of the SEC chairman, the IRS commissioner, and the head of the White House Domestic Policy Council to $1,000. ..White House Press Secretary!
– Ira Goldman (@KDbyProxy) November 7, 2023
The budget expires on November 17, when House and Senate proposals must be reconciled or temporary funding approved to avoid a government shutdown.
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With the appointment of Republican Jim Johnson as Speaker of the House, digital asset legislation as well as federal budget matters are also being revived.
Among the cryptocurrency-related bills awaiting Congress’s attention are the Financial Innovation and Technology (FIT) for the 21st Century Act, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, the Payment Stablecoins Clarity Act, and the Keep Your Coins Act.
On November 7, Senator Ted Budde introduced the Keep Your Coins Act — which guarantees the right to hold self-custodial wallets — to the Senate after it passed the House Financial Services Committee in July.
On the same day, the Wall Street Journal reported that Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo urged Congress to crack down on the use of cryptocurrencies to finance terrorism.
“There are places where we think Congress needs to act. “We will work with Congress to get more tools,” he said at the annual meeting of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
More than 100 lawmakers called on the Joe Biden administration to act against the alleged role of cryptocurrencies in financing terrorism in an October 17 letter led by Senator Elizabeth Warren.
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