Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. 20240702

Now that Lindsey Graham is on board cutting Social Security and stuff, that sure aint going to help inflation. There are a lot of people out there who are hurting. We all took a bunch of money. Well leave this hereth to bring you our live committed coverage to the u. S. House. Continue watching if you go to our website, cspan. Org or free mobile video app, cspan now. House lawmakers considering a rule for three bills, including a measure regulating crypto kurpbcy. Live coverage of the house here on cspan. The speaker pro tempore the house will be in order. The prayer will be offered by chaplain kibben. Chaplain kibben would you pray with me. Immortal and invisible god, all power belongs to you. Gracious and merciful god, in you is found unfailing love. With you, o lord, our not competing nature with you, o lord, is not competing natures but the whole of life. In you we find both tenderness and strength. You love us with a parents compassion and guide us with your firm hand. In our lives, may we learn to strike the balance between patience and persistence. May we show no ill will toward others, but have the wherewithal to bear their criticism and their ridicule. And when our anger is justified, may we be just as quick to forgive those who repent of their offenses. May those who are strong bear the feelings of the weak. And may those who are vulnerable bear witness to the strength of their empathy. In this body, may we acknowledge that we belong to one another and reconcile with those who attempt to dismantle our mutual purpose. In you may we strive for restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, and live in peace. God of justice and mercy, abide with us this day. In the power and love of your eternal name we pray. Amen. The speaker pro tempore the chair has examined the the chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. The pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from california, mr. Takano. Mr. Takano please join me in saying our nations pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The speaker pro tempore the chair will receive a message. The messenger mr. Speaker. Messages from the senate. The secretary mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore madam secretary. The secretary i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has agreed to Senate Joint Resolution 58, providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States code, of the rules submitted by the department of energy relating to Energy Conservation standards for consumer furnaces, in which the concurrence of the house is requested. The speaker pro tempore the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for oneminute speeches from each side of the aisle. For what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition . Mr. Thompson mr. Speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore so be. Mr. Thompson thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, farming is more than a profession. It is a true cornerstone of the american society. And no group has had a more Significant Impact on the evolution of modern society than our hardworking farmers. From the earliest days of our nations founding, the work ethic and devotion of our producers is what pushes us forward. Before the sunrises sun rietzs, our nations farmers, ranchers and foresters have already been hard at work for hours, tending to their fields and caring for their livestock. Providing for our families goes beyond putting food on our tables, it includes clothes on our back, heat in our homes and fuel for our vehicles. With each harvest, our farm families ensure that america and the world has access to a safe and abundant food supply. American agriculture remains americas backbone and we must support the families that give us so much by passing an effective fiveyear farm bill. Thank you, mr. Speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minutes. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to michael r. Mccormick, the remarkable superintendent of the valverde unified school district. As he embarks on a welldeserved journey into retirement with over 27 years of dedicated service retirement. With over 27 years of dedicated service to the field of education, michael mccormicks career has been defined by an unwavering commitment to fostering Educational Excellence and nurturing innovation. Before assuming the role of superintendent, mr. Mccormick served as the assistant superintendent for Education Services and under his stewardship, the district earned numerous awards and accolades owing to his thoughtful and diligent focus that puts students first. From championing Stem Education to striving to close the racial education gap for his students, valverde has thrived under his guidance. Superintendent michael mccormick, your dedication to education has left an enduring legacy of inspiration and empowerment. Congratulations on your retirement and thank you for your tireless commitment to excellence in education. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Lamalfa s seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Lamalfa thank you, mr. Speaker. My district in northern california, theres a catastrophic removal, destruction of the klamath dams, hydroelectric dams that provide clean co2free power for about 70,000 homes. Its reducing the renewable grid that everybody seems to want, eliminating recreational asset, hurting property values, damaging the local economy and making it tougher on agriculture in the klamath basin. Many of these products right here are grown in california. 99 of what america relies on, some of those crops are grown there. Wont be able to do that much longer if they take the water away. The removal of these dams currently has released many millions of cubic yards of accumulated silt which has ruined the water quality, killed hundreds of thousands of fish and the spawning beds they would have laid new simultaneouses in. Weve even seen fullsized deer getting stuck in this and dying of the mud. Local farmers are suffering. The project borrowed water from the dams to extend the irrigation system. You wont have that flexibility anymore with that out. You wont be able to grow some of these crops that americans enjoy and rely upon. So we have the devastation going on all in the name of the environment, all in the name of saving some fish and in the meantime, theyve destroyed and killed hundreds of thousands of fish and will continue to do so with this reckless dam removal that wont end here. It will keep going. Well have less hydroelectric power, less recreation with this crazy type of thinking. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from pennsylvania seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i ask for unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. 228 days. That is how long it has been since scores of people were violated, maimed, tortured and killed in israel. Ms. Wild 228 days since 252 people, including children and the elderly, were abducted from israel into gaza. Yesterday i met with four of their families. Alex, a 75yearold, was taken from kibbutz. He spent the last 30 years working at israels holocaust remembrance center. Teaching about the lessons of world war ii. Ohad, a dual israeligerman citizen, was kidnapped. His daughter showed me one of the last photos she has of him which detickets him being dragged into a van by a terrorist. Shakhed, i wear a dog tag in his honor. Was a 19yearold i. D. F. Soldier killed on october 7. Foot and of his lifeless body being dragged from the tank he drove was shown to me by his family. His body was taken to gaza and his family prays for its return so they can give him a proper burial. Matan, a 21yearold i. D. F. Soldier, also abducted. Status unknown. Believed to be alive. He shares a november 28 birthday with his younger sister. This past year was the first time they had ever marked their birthday apart. 228 excruciating days for these families. We must not forget them until they are released, i will keep saying their naacp and standing with their family saying their names and standing with their families. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from indiana seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Ms. Houchin mr. Speaker, i rise today to celebrate National Emergency medical Services Week and honor the e. M. S. Professionals and paramedics who provide lifesaving care across the nation every day. E. M. S. Professionals like nick, chief of scott county e. M. S. , and my home state of indiana. Since he started serving in scott county more than a decade ago, nick and his team have turned around the Emergency Medical Services department and it is now selffunded, saving taxpayer money, while also saving lives. This can be a heartwrenching line of work. Last year nick suddenly lost a friend and colleague and yet still he perseveres. While suffering through his own grief, he continues to respond to calls for service. Nick has also started a Community Paramedicine program to train future e. M. S. Personnel. Hes an outstanding medic and an exemplar of the e. M. S. Profession. This week we celebrate every e. M. S. Professional across the country as they contend for our communities wherever emergencies happen. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition . Mr. Chair, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Standup mr. Chair, mr. Stanton mr. Chair, the government conducted Nuclear Weapons Development Test in the southwest, exposing arizonans to eye nighted radiation from ionized radiation from the fallout. Women, men and children were diagnosed with terrible cancers from the radiation exposure. Many tragically lost their lives. Nearly 25 years ago, congress attempted to make amends by passing the radiation exposure compensation act. But without congressional action, it is set to expire next month, denying arizona families the again sayings they need to pay for Health Care Families the saves they need to pay for the health care treatments they need. The Senate Overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan reca reauthorization act, a fiveyear extension of the program. It mirrors my downwinders parity act by expanding the scope of the re cas coverage recas coverage for those who were denied compensation. For too long theyve been left behind and overlooked. Give these people the justice they deserve and put this bill to a vote. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition . Request permission to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise to recognize all men and women in uniform who have made the you ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Mr. Good since our nations founding via the revolutionary war, more than one million americans have given their lives to protect the freedoms that we hold dear today. Every fallen member of the Armed Services and their families deserves our deepest expression of gratitude, not only on memorial day, but every day. The words of jesus christ in john apply to these heroes most deserving of remembrance whether he said, this is my commandment. That you love one anotherred a i have loved another as i have loved you. That someone lay down his life for his friends. As we reflect upon the sacrifice of more than one million American Service members this memorial day, may we also remember the family and friends they left behind. Their pain and grief are unimaginable, tempered only by the joy of their memories and the knowledge that they gave their lives in service to the greatest country the world has ever known. I join other americans in offering them my prayers and heartfelt appreciation. May god bless them and may god continue to bless the United States of america. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition . I ask than consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise to recognize the Rockingham County Baseball League as they celebrate 100 years of americas favorite pastime, founded in 1924, the Rockingham County Baseball League is the second oldest continuously operating league in the United States. Mr. Cline j. R. Polly line weaver, a Sports Writer for the daily news record, helped organize the league. The effort brought players together from seven communities acacross Rockingham County in bh spirit and game with a consistent schedule and designated rules. From there the league would go on to include teams from up and down the shenandoah valley. The league has a rich history, survived the great depression, world war ii and integrated with africanamerican players in the 1950s. Those players who went on to play in Major League Baseball and even the National Basketball association. Today its fields remain a welcoming place that bring athletes together. Recently the leagues storied history and many accomplishments were highlighted in an exhibition in the History Museum in dayton. It calls attention to the hard work of those who have shown care to each other through the common love of baseball. Congratulations to them and the many wonderful seasons theyve enjoyed over the last century and i wish them many more to come. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from indiana seek recognition . Mrs. Houchin by direction of committee on rules i call up House Resolution 1243. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the resolution. The clerk house calendar number 77 House Resolution 1243 resolved, that at any time afte adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill, h. R. 4763, to provide for a system o regulation of Digital Assets by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the securities and Exchange Commission, and fo other purposes. The First Reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on Financial Services or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the fiveminute rule. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committees o agriculture and Financial Services now printed in the bill, an amendment in the natur of a substitute consisting of the text of rules Committee Print 118 33, modified by the amendment printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted in the house and in the committee of the whole. Th bill, as amended, shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the fiveminute rule and shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules. Each such further amendment may be offered only i the order printed in the report may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specifie in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of th whole. All points of order against such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill fo amendment the Committee Shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the house with such further amendments as may have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage withou intervening motion except one motion to recommit. Section 2. At any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may pursuant to clause 2b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill, h. R. 5403, to amend the Federal Reserve act to prohibit the Federal Reserve banks from offering certain products or services directly to an individual, to prohibit the use of Central Bank Digital currenc for monetary policy, and for other purposes. The First Reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments specified i this section and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on Financial Services or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the fiveminute rule. The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on Financial Services now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted in the house and in the committee of the whole. Th bill, as amended, shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the fiveminute rule and shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part c of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. Each such further amendment may be offered only i the order printed in the report may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specifie in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of th whole. All points of order against such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill fo amendment the Committee Shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the house with such further amendments as may have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage withou intervening motion except one motion to recommit. Section 3. Upon adoption of this resolutio it shall be in order to conside in the house the bill, h. R. 192 to prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the district of columbia. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on oversight and accountability no printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except, one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on oversight and accountability or their respective designees, and two, one motion to recommit. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from indiana is recognized one hour. Mrs. Houchin i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. Mcgovern pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. During consideration of this resolution all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mrs. Houchin last night the rules committee met and produced a rule h. Res. 1247 providing for consideration of several pieces of legislation. The rule provides for h. R. 4763 financial innovation and technology for the 21st century act to be considered under a structured rule and provides for debate on the committee of Financial Services and provides for one motion to recommit. The rule also provides for h. R. 5403 Central Bank Digital currency antisurveillance state act. It would be considered under a structured rule and provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and a ranking minority member of the Financial Services committee and the rule provides for consideration of h. R. 192 a bill which would prohibit noncitizens from voting in elections in the district of columbia to be considered under a closed rule. It provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority on the committee of oversight and accountability and provides for one motion to recommit. I rise in support of this rule and the underlying pieces of legislation. The financial innovation and technology for the 21 century act. The rule provides for consideration of this legislation. As a member of the Financial Services committee we spent hours trying to develop a responsible regulatory structure for Block Chain Technology and Digital Assets. Regulators like the securities and Exchange Commission have failed. Instead of developing a purposeful framework that would promote innovation and protect consumers they have led by enforcement action. This threatens the United States leadership in the future of Digital Assets, a future could better protect privacy, reduce business costs and empower more americans. This flawed approach has required congressional action and it is the joint response of the Financial Services committee and the Agriculture Committee. It establishes a framework consistent with existing law and appropriate for the Digital Assets in question and unique characteristics. First, there is no clear current Market Structure for the regulation of Digital Assets in the United States. The s. E. C. Has been regulating by enforcement action. This leaves innovators and consumers to play a guessing game. It lends itself to the s. E. C. Picking winners and losers. There is no way for Digital Asset commodities to be registered or regulated. Chair beginsler has said most Digital Assets are security, hour by his own admission not all are security. It estimated that 70 or more are commodities. This is among the most Important Reasons for the passage of this bill. The s. E. C. Does not regulate commodities but securities. The f. T. C. Regulates commodities. Digital assets could be commodities or securities has created a black hole. By defining Digital Assets commodities and securities, this protects consumers and provides the regulatory clarity for Digital Asset developers. The framework will give clear guidance to regulators and consumers can better judge assets for themselves, avoid scams, reduce instances of data theft and lessen the potential for market manipulation. It is good for our constituents and good for the country. I encourage us to support this important legislation. H. R. 5403 the Central Bank Digital currency antisurveillance state act. Im a proud cosponsor because i share the concerns of my colleagues about the consequences of Federal Reserve bank and Digital Currency and what it means to our quints. It would give federal bureaucrats the ability to track every transaction americans make and ability to block any transaction they so choose thvment would be surveillance in the daily lives of every day americans and should be concerned about the potential threat to individual rights and privacy. It would give the government to shut off payments and freeze the Bank Accounts of citizens for political reasons just like we saw with the canadian trucker protest in operation choke point. Stand against the creation of Central Bank Digital currency. This rule provides for consideration of h. R. 192 a bill to prohibit noncitizens of voting in the elections of the district of columbia. Americans are concerned with Election Integrity. Free and Fair Elections are essential to a democracy. Noncitizens voting in elections undermines confidence in elections. The local residents amendment rights act is so objectionable and allows noncitizens to vote including Illegal Immigrants and Foreign Agents. These individuals in particular have interests that are at odds with our own. They have representing the interests of other countries including countries hostile to the United States. Why would we allow russia, china or any Foreign Agent to vote on policies that impact the u. S. Capital . It defies logic but it is what d. C. Has inspired to do. Why do we have the interest of affairs . D. C. Has unique and constitutional relationship with the United States congress. A lack of confidence in american elections anywhere threatens the confidence in american elections everywhere. It is incumbent upon us to protect the integrity of d. C. Elections. When they allow noncitizens and people with loyalty to other countries to vote. Mr. Speaker, i look forward to consideration of these three important pieces of legislation and urge the passage of this rule. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from indiana reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Mcgovern i thank the gentlelady for yielding me the customary 30 minutes and i yield myself such time as i may consume. Mr. Speaker, there is not much to say. If you were to listen to my friend on the other side you think these bills are going to change the world the second the ink dries but they are not. This is wasted time. More of the same from the republicans that is completely out of touch with what the American People care about. H. R. 192 is another g. O. P. Attempt to medical in d. C. Politics. They spend more time worrying about p washington, d. C. , than their own constituents and the party that claims to care about small government wants the federal government to tell residents here in d. C. How to run their elections. They are for local control unless it is local control by democrats in which case, never mind. To hear anybody on the republican side talk about Election Integrity is rich, especially from a party that is filled with election deniers. We are here to consider h. R. 4763 a bill that provides an upper hand to the crypto industry instead of addressing gaps in Digital Asset regulation. Finally, h. R. 5403 a bill that prohibits the u. S. From exploring Digital Currency. My friends on the other side of the aisle are afraid of innovation, 130 countries representing 98 of global g. D. P. Are looking into Digital Currency. Maybe its something we should into as well. Unfortunately i think some on the other side want to go back to stone tablets. Its our job to address privacy concerns, not bury our heads in the sand and pretend the world isnt moving forward. Its all stunts instead of solutions. Extremism over bipartisanship. And its really a shame. This narrow majority could have given us a chance to Work Together in a bipartisan way. But instead my friends over on the other side of the aisle have pandered to their most extreme members over and over and over again. They let the extremists kick out their own speaker. They let the extremists dictate the agenda on the house floor. They let the extremists take down seven rule votes since january, 2023. A stunning indictment of their ability to get anything done. And speaking of indictments, republicans are skipping their real jobs to take day trips up to new york to try to undermine Donald Trumps criminal trial. No time to work with democrats, but plenty of time to put on weird matching consult uniforms and cult uniforms and stand behind trump with their bright red ties like pathetic props. Maybe they want to distract from the fact that their candidate for president has been indicted more times than hes been elected. Maybe they dont want to talk about the fact that the leader of their party is on trial for covering up hush money payments to a pornography star for political gain, not to mention three other criminal felony prosecutions hes facing. Now, i understand why my republican friends want to distract from donald trump. They dont want to talk about how trump had the worst jobs record since the great depression. How he sold out our allies and empowered oured a never says oure adversaries. So they bring silly things like this to the floor to deflect blame and distract from the fact that they have no real vision. Just division. And no real plans to make life better for the American People. And with that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair would like to remind members to refrain from engaging in personalities towards presumed nominees for the office of the president. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentlewoman from indiana is recognized. Ms. Houchin thank you, mr. Speaker. Id just like to note that the bury the head in the sand approach is the very approach that chairman beginsler has been taking chairman ginsler has been taking with regard to Digital Assets. Our colleagues seem to be less concerned about getting a Regulatory Framework for Consumer Protection and are hurrying to put in a Central Bank Digital currency for digital surveillance. With that i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Mcgovern i wasse admonished for stating that the former president is in a court of law. Its the truth. I have a parliamentary inquiry, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman will state his inquiry. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Speaker, has the chair determined its unparliamentary to state a fact . The speaker pro tempore the chair is not in a position to determine the veracity of remarks made on the floor. Members must avoid personalities. Mr. Mcgovern thats unbelievable. Last week during debate, a republican member of this house said, and i quote, watch the former president of the United States being hauled into court day after day with a sham trial, end quote. He wasnt admonished. I just referenced the same trial and i was. So, mr. Speaker, i have to ask a further parliamentary inquiry. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman will state his inquiry. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Speaker, is it correct that members of congress can mention the trial of the presumptive nominee for president , call it a sham, and question the integrity of the judge, but a reference to the mere existence of that same trial without any characterization, thats out of order . The speaker pro tempore the chair will not issue an advisory opinion. Mr. Mcgovern well, one last parliamentary inquiry, mr. Speaker. Is this restriction originally founded at least in part on the n jeffersons manual that, quote, in parliament, to speak irreverently or seditiously against the king is against order, end quote . Is that what this is about . I have jeffersons manual here. The speaker pro tempore members must avoid personalities in debates. The chair will direct members to rule 17, section 370, of the house rules and manual. Mr. Mcgovern so it is in fact based on jeffersons manual. Mr. Speaker, donald trump might want to be a king, but hes not a king. He is not a presumptive king, hes not even the president. Hes a presumptive nominee. And i know youre trying to do your job and follow precedent, but frankly at some point its time for this body to recognize that there is no precedent for this situation. We have a presumptive nominee for president facing 88 felony counts and were being prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternative facts. These are real facts. A candidate for president of the United States is on trial for sending a hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign. And then fraudulently disguysing those payments disguising those payments in violation of the law. Hes also charged with conspiring to overturn the election. Hes also charged with stealing classified information. And a jury has already found him liable for rape in a civil court. And yet in this republicancontrolled house, its ok to talk about the trial, but you have to call it a sham. Mrs. Houchin take down his words. Mr. Mcgovern its ok to say the jury is rigged but its ok to say the court is corrupt but not trump is corrupting the rule of law. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman will suspend. The gentlewoman from indiana. Demands that his words be taken down. The gentleman from massachusetts will be seated. The clerk will report the words. The speaker pro tempore order. The clerk will report the words. The clerk we have a presumptive nominee for president facing 88 kill fellow any counts, and we are prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternate facts. These are real facts. A candidate for president of the United States is on trial for sitting in hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a scandal during his 2016 campaign, then fraudulently disguising those payments in violation of the law. Hes also charged with conspiring to overturn the election. Hes also charged with stealing classified information. And a jury has already found him libel for rape in a civil. Yet in this republican controlled house it is ok to talk about the trial but you have to call it a sham. It is ok to say the jury is rigged. But not that trump should be held accountable. It is ok to say the court is corrupt, but not trump is corrupting the rule of law. The speaker pro tempore the chairs prepared to rule. The words of the gentleman from massachusetts accused the presumed nominee of the office of president in engaging in illegal activities. The presumed nominee for the office of president according to the same treatments under the rules of decorum in debate. As a sitting president. This practice is memorialized in section 370 of the house rules and manual. This is a warranted this is warranted ann though a candidate may not have officially obtained a partys nomination. Once there is no dispute that the candidate will receive the nomination. The chair reaches that the conclusion in part based on the speaker right of september 29, 1988 on that day the speaker made it clear that actual Party Nominees is not a present requisite for treatment as though they are nominees. I messed that one up, im sorry. The chair has advised and as early today. This entails the application of restrictions against the personalities to refer to a candidate under the rules of decorum and debate. Therefore, although remarks in debate may include criticism of such candidates official position as a candidate it is a breach of order to refer to the candidate in terms offensive by accusing or merely insulting. Also, as such in section 370 of the manual, the acquisition that the president has committed a crime or even that the president has done something illegal is not in order. The chair relies on precedent, september 10, 1998 and finds the remarks consistently a personal attack. Without objection, the offensive words are stricken from the record. The gentlewoman from indiana is recognized. Mrs. Houchin mr. Speaker, i would like to yield five minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. Langworthy. Senator lankford mr. Langworthy thank you for yielding the time, finally to make a speech here. Im a strong supporter of the legislation to be considered under the rule before us today including the central bank antisurveillance state act which will prohibit the Federal Reserve from pursuing a path that could jeopardize the financial freedoms and privacy of the American People. Around the world, we are seeing authoritarian regimes embrace Digital Currencies . And why . It is to tightly control their people. Thats why the Chinese Communist party is developing a Digital Currency that will allow them to throttle their people to Bank Accounts and subject to them to oppressive state control. We have seen fiscal year democratic governments, not too different from our own, pursue policies in recent years to control their citizens access to basic Financial Services and destroying their livelihoods. Our neighbors in canada who shut down access to personal Bank Accounts of protestors who had the audacity the right to demonstrate in opposition to their governments draconian vaccine mandates. Before coming to congress, i joined our Health Care Workers and others in the state of new york to provide test against Governor Cuomo that led to many front line Health Care Workers losing their jobs. With tools like Digital Currency the government can retaliate against those who speak up and have a difference of opinion. If they had this power back then, would they have used . With our experience with President Biden and the weaponization of government agencies, i am not surprised that the people can see the danger here. This administration with regulation after regulation, policy after policy has chipped away at the freedom of the American People. Under President Biden, every day americans are wondering if they will be able to purchase a gas stove, drive an affordable car and do with their private land and voice a conservative view point without some form of repriceal from that government. We have an administration captured and intimidated by the radical left that has weaponized our federal agencies against the freedom of individuals as the Biden Administration has over the past four years. American people are sick and tired being spied on. First it was warrantless surveillance through fisa. If we allow this dangerous trend to continue, what is next . Mr. Speaker, we need to pass the underlying legislation to prevent any pursuit of authoritarian policy like centralized Digital Currency. Pass this rule and protect the privacy and freedoms of the American People. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields. The gentlewoman from indiana is recognized. Mrs. Houchin i yield two minutes to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Rose. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Rose i rise in support of the cbdc antisurveillance act. I would like to thank tom emmer and chairman mchenry of house Financial Services committee for their work on this legislation to protect americans privacy and financial data. A Central Bank Digital currency would have devastating consequences of 4th amendment rights, just as we have seen the federal government weaponnized against conservatives whether the i. R. S. , d. O. J. , f. B. I. Or the fed, no Government Agency should be aiblg to trample on our constitution. The freedom to purchase goods and Services Necessary to care for and protect our families shouldnt be left up to the government. A cbdc is a slippery slope towards ceding that liberty. I support this bill and i yield back. Mrs. Houchin i am prepared to close and yield myself the balance of my time. America has always been a leader in innovation and Technology Particularly in Financial Services. In order for this to remain the case we must support regulatory structures that continue to foster that spirit without sacrificing privacy and provide Consumer Protections and preserve market integrity. Before us is the opportunity to move legislation that could have a positive effect on the every day lives of all americans. The financial innovation and technology for the 21st century or fit 21 is a bill that delivers for the future of Digital Assets here in the United States. Speaking of protecting americans, the Central Bank Digital currency antisurveillance state act ensures that the government is never in a position to weapon nighs the Financial System against the American People. Innovation cannot come at the cost of individual liberties. The issuance would only work to compromise americans right and privacy. H. R. 192, protect the integrity of american elections here in the district of columbia and we must prevent it. Congress must step in when local officials fail to protect Election Integrity in this most basic sense. Noncitizens including immigrants must not have the ability to vote in american elections at any level anywhere. This is the basic issue of responsible governance. To ensure that government is responsive to and protective of it must not include noncitizens or foreign actors. I look forward to these bills moving out of the house this week and vote yes on the previous question and yes on the rule. Mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields. The question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. Those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Ms. Scanlon i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. A sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered members will record their vote by electronic device. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote adoption of the resolution. This is a 15minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 205, the nays are 203. The previous is question is ordered. The question is on the adoption of the resolution. So many as are in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. We request a recorded vote. A recorded vote is requested. The speaker pro tempore a recorded vote is requested. Those favoring a recorded vote will rise. A sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This will be a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 204, the nays are 203. The resolution is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. The speaker pro tempore the house will be in order. For what purpose does the gentleman from North Carolina seek recognition . Mr. Mchenry mr. Speaker, i ask all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials on the bill h. R. 4763. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Pursuant to House Resolution 1243 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union to consider for consideration of h. R. 4763. The chair appoints the gentleman from mississippi, mr. Guest, to preside over the committee of the whole. The chair the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h. R. 4763 which the clerk will report by title. The clerk a bill to provide for a system of regulation of Digital Assets by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the securities and Exchange Commission and for other purposes. The chair pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and Ranking Member of the committee on Financial Services or their respective designees. The gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Mchenry, and the gentlewoman from california, ms0 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Mchenry. Mr. Mchenry mr. Chairman, i ask that i yield myself as much time as i may consume. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mchenry today congress will establish a new High Water Mark for Digital Asset policy. To be clear, this joint effort between the Financial Services committee and the Agriculture Committee did not come together overnight. Far from it. We formed subcommittees, convened working groups, heard from countless stakeholders and received input from members across the ideological spectrum in the house of representatives. Last july, we passed the bipartisan financial innovation and technology for the 21st century act out of our respective committees. Each step in this process has created a new High Water Mark. The next step will be a broad bipartisan vote today to finally provide the robust Consumer Protections and clear Regulatory Framework established by this bill. Fit 21 will submit the United States Global Leadership in technological innovation, invention and adoption. Unfortunately, our current Regulatory Framework is preventing Digital Assets innovation from reaching its full potential. The s. E. C. And the cftc is currently in a food fight for control of these asset classes. Theyve created an impossible situation where the same firms are subject to competing and contradictory Enforcement Actions by the two different agencies, leaving consumers behind, leaving innovators behind. F. I. T. 21 fix this is by creating a Regulatory Framework to provide clear rules of the road and strong guardrails for americans engaging with the Digital Asset ecosystem. At its core, f. I. T. 21 ensures time protections to ensure the americans that engage in the Digital Asset ecosystem can do so safely and more americans can engage as well. Today we have the opportunity to answer the calls of consumers, Digital Asset innovators, and the Biden Administration. We can establish the next High Water Mark for Digital Assets here in the United States. I urge my colleagues to support Consumer Protection, innovation, and American Leadership by voting for f. I. T. 21. And i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Waters mr. Chair, i yield myself such time as i may consume. I yield to myself such time as i may consume. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters i rise in strong opposition to h. R. 4763, which i am calling not fit for purpose act. This bill would deregulate a substantial portion of the crypto industry, taking them out of the purview of the securities and Exchange Commission, or s. E. C. , and allowing them to operate either under a lighter touch Regulatory Regime, under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or in what i have called a regulatory no mans land with no primary regulator and virtually no regulations. But crypto, that would remain under the s. E. C. s purview. This bill still provides major exemptions from critical securities laws. And if this wasnt bad enough, this bill is not just about crypto, language was added to the bill after it was marked up by the committees of jurisdiction that would allow even some traditional securities to also exist in this regulatory no mans land. Specifically, im referring to title 2 of the bill that defines the term, investment contract asset. Assets to fall under this definition are explicitly deemed not to be securities, and therefore not under the s. E. C. s purview. But the bill doesnt provide an alternative Legal Framework for these assets. This represents an extreme maga libertarian approach where companies can operate without regulatory scrutiny and consumers and investors are on their own in detecting and avoiding fraudulent schemes. While republican defenders of this bill have argued that this definition of investment contract asset is limited to Digital Assets under the bill, this is disputed by legal experts, and the s. E. C. Chair himself who confirmed in a recent statement regarding this bill that it would have a broader impact on traditional securities. Interestingly, i dont hear any arguments from the republicans at the rules Committee Hearing disputing this would in fact be a regulatory no mans land even if they insist its just for crypto. Even for crypto, that would be transferred over to the cftc. I have serious concerns about the loss of protections for consumers and investors. The cftc is generally designed to deal with sophisticated Institutional Investors and traders. It doesnt have the same kind of protections that the s. E. C. Has for Retail Investors and consumers. And all three avenues provided for crypto under this bill, the cftcs lighter touch Regulatory Regime, s. E. C. s weaker Regulatory Regime for restricted Digital Assets, or the regulatory no mans land. These are just a few examples of protections that would be stripped away the right of an investor to sue, gone. Detections of conflict of interest, gone. The right for critical enclosures that help investors make informed charges, gone. Enforcement against states for fraud and enforcement by the s. E. C. For all the above protections, including antifraud. H. R. 4763 would also upend more than 170 enforcement cases the s. E. C. Has brought related to crypto violations. These actions have been brought by democratic and republican administrations to protect investors against crypto bad actors. The s. E. C. Is the federal agency on the frontlines of enforcing our existing securities laws on crypto firms that have willfully chosen to ignore the law and defraud consumers out of billions of dollars with these get rich quick schemes. Given this industry giving this industry a free pass to avoid most all regulations cannot be the answer to the serious concerns that members have raised about crypto fraud. Ive seen many of my republicans acting at the behest of the industry to pass new regulatory regulation, but this is perhaps the worst, most harmful proposal ive seen in a long time. This bill would deregulate crypto and certain traditional securities to the extent that i and other experts have expressed serious concerns about this bill causing a potential market crash and recession. Im also reminded of how, over the warnings of regulators, congress moved to deregulate the over the counter derivatives, remember the Derivatives Market in 2000 . The result of financial crisis triggered the implosion of Financial Institutions, a wave of foreclosures and trillions of dollars in lost wealth. And so i urge my colleagues, dont forget. You should not repeat history with this bill. I want to highlight the Biden Administration has released a statement of Administration Policy opposing this bill. The bill is also opposed by a long list of investors and consumer advocates, state securities administrators concerned about state preemption , Labor Industries worried about the Retirement Funds of their members, environmentalist groups concerned about the undisclosed risk of crypto mining, civic organizations worried about the undue influence of financial and crypto industry over congress actions, academics, legal experts, and technologies. So i urge my colleagues to stand up. Dont be afraid of big crypto. Stand up for everyday investors and consumers. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill. And i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i now yield four minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, the chair of the Agriculture Committee and partner in f. I. T. 21, glenn thompson. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Thompson i thank the chairman and thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of h. R. 4763, the financial innovation and technology for the 21st century act, or f. I. T. 21, which establishes a Regulatory Framework for Digital Assets while protecting consumers and fostering innovation within the United States. This legislation has been a long time coming. 24 legislation has been a long time coming. Since 2018, we have held numerous hearings and introduced multiple pieces of legislation to bring certainty and clarity to the Digital Assets markets. For congress to establish a Digital Assets market framework it was clear the committee on agriculture and committee on Financial Services needed to work in a collaborative manner. Chairman mchenry and i met two years ago to develop this ambitious plan and aimed to develop the best process possible. Members of both committees have engaged in robust, collaborative debates and discussions on current commodities laws and regulations as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the Digital Asset ecosystem. Through this process we learned several key points including the current process to determine if a Digital Asset is a security or not, is unclear, unworkable and impractical. The commodities Trading Commission lacks authority. The treatment of customer assets held by intermediaries needs to be strengthened. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have claimed this bill will allow substantial portion of crypto and traditional securities to escape nearly all laws and regulations operating without any primary regulator. Thats far from the truth. The legislation before us today enhances existing securities and commodities regulations to create an appropriate framework for Digital Assets. For example, a registered Digital Commodity Exchange will follow regulations similar to those of the cftc for derivatives exchanges, including monitoring trading activity, reporting trading information, managing conflicts of interest, ensuring government standards, upholding Cyber Security and more. Mr. Speaker, congress has a historic opportunity to enact legislation that not only protects consumers but ensures the United States remains at the forefront of technical innovation. By supporting f. I. T. 21 we can foster, create a safer and more competitive environment for Digital Assets. Let us seize this moment to provide clear guidelines and robust protections fostering a future where innovation can thrive responsibly within our borders. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, i understand that the gentlelady from washington state, the chair of the energy and commerce committee, has a few questions for clarification. I yield to the gentlelady for questions. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. I understand blockchains can be used in all kinds of applications, facilitating the tokennization of financial assets. Ms. Rog sperse mrs. Rodgers the u. S. Share a Blockchain Developers has declined from 47 in 2017 to 29 in 2022. So im excited about this legislation, providing clear rules of the road, this is a clear complement to some of the work weve been doing in e. N. C. To ensure American Leadership in blockchain technology. I just would like to clarify some of the the nonfinancial uses that may be unintentionally captured by the bill. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. Mrs. Rodgers thank you. Appreciate the time. So based on conversations ive had, its my understanding that the intent of this bill is to ensure the Current Authority over certain restricted Digital Assets transactions remains with the s. E. C. And that the cftc would only be authorized to regulate certain intermediaries in spot digital commodity markets. Is this correct . Mr. Thompson your understanding of the legislation is cent. The intent of f. I. T. 21 is to draw jurisdictional lines between s. E. C. And cftc as it regards certain transactions. Mrs. Rodgers could you tell how this would impact against fraud . Mr. Thompson it provides spot marketing f. I. T. 21 doesnt provide the tort to directly regulate any transaction between two people which is not intermediated by any company. Cftc has existing authorities to police for fraud and market manipulation which f. I. T. 21 does not change. Mrs. Rodgers thank you, chairman thompson, thairm mchenry, thank you. Mr. Thompson i yield back. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield three minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. Mr. Lynch, the Ranking Member of the subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and inclusion. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Lynch thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, ive been a member of congress for over 20 years and i want to say that this is probably one of the worst, it may not be the worst, but its in the top three, in terms of the worst bills that i have seen actually progress to this to the floor of the house. Anybody who is excited about this bill either has not read it or does not understand it. This bill is a radical rewrite of the securities laws in this country. As most people who know our history realize that in 1929 when the markets crashed, we established the securities and Exchange Commission. In 1934. Shortly after the crash. And what that did, it created an agency that became the cop on the beat in Financial Services. They became the protectors of investors. And since that time in 1934, as courts have interpreted that law that is protecting investors, weve built up a body of case law that now makes the United States Financial Markets the most robust and theyve become the marvel of the world. Everyone comes to the United States for investment because they know that their investment is protected and theyll be treated fairly in the courts because we have welldefined laws. This bill undoes all of that. This bill is a radical rewriting of the securities laws since 1934. It redefines what a security is it allows Financial Companies to escape the cop on the beat. So now they can leave the jurisdiction of the s. E. C. And go over to the cftc. Which has a fraction of its about six times as small as the s. E. C. So what will happen here is youll see a migration of Companies Going out from under the s. E. C. Jurisdiction over to cftc. And this will cause havoc in our Financial Markets. Eventually. The one amendment i would have liked to have seen on this bill is that any company that becomes insolvent because of their involvement with crypto cannot receive a taxpayer bailout because thats where this bill is heading. This is going to cause infirmity in the Financial Institutions of this country as they get comingled with crypto and eventually we will be forced to be put in a situation were going to have to bail some of these banks out because of their involvement in crypto. This is this is a very bad bill and i urge my colleagues to vote against it. Thank you and i yield back. The chair the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i recognize the chairman of the Digital Asset subcommittee that shepherded this bill along, the gentleman from oregon, mr. Hill. Two minutes. For what amount of time . Mr. Hill this is like the tale of two cities. Where one side is offering a work of fiction and the other side working a term of nonfiction. I think over here those supporting this bill, since last january, our two committees agriculture and Financial Services have collaborated to make sure that we protect consumers and investors and the digital marketplace by preventing fraud, manipulation, front running, other practices. Applying bank secrecy act, a. M. E. Requires to know your customer rules. Mitigating conflicts of interest. Requiring firms to hold capital, segregate customer funds, have the right kind of cust my policy. Have registrations for exchange, dealers and broark and brokers who are working in timental assets. Imposing bookkeeping and reporting requirements. Building on the regime for Digital Securities to include robust disclosures to anyone considering a purchase with that said we hear a lot about the lack of legal claire fir the treatment of Digital Asset which was the impetus nor legislation. But what does that even mean . Mr. Speaker, on this day the s. E. C. And the cftc still contradict each other in court about whether a Digital Asset like ethereum should be treated as a security or a commodity. Both cannot be true. When two federal agencies in the same administration cannot agree on the law, it should be up to congress and thats what the regulatory clarity that this bill, the f. I. T. 21 act, will bring. In fact, i would argue that f. I. T. 21 is responsive to President Bidens own executive order and the Financial Stability Oversight Council report calling on congress to enact a framework for Digital Assets that are not securities. And thats what weve done. Im also proud that this measure is the product of Committee Work done through regular order. And through good faith, bipartisan efforts. All members should support this bill. I encourage a full yes vote from both sides of the aisle. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield four minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. Kasten. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Casten we have heard several times that this legislation is better and the status quo. Theres a whole lot of reasons thats not true. But i want to focus specifically on this bills utter failure to address the use of cryptocurrency by terrorists, foreign adversaries and criminals. Those issue, treasury asked us specifically to address these issues with a whole bunch of reasonable changes we introduced amendments. Every one of those amendments was rejected. The antiMoney Laundering provisions in this bill simply duplicate existing requirements. And yet the bills supporters have actually argue and treasury agreed that the status quo is not sufficient to address the challenges created by cryptocurrencis. How do we know cryptocurrencis are a problem for Money Laundering . The bad guys love crypto. Lets give you some examples. North korean hackers have stolen 3 billion in crypto currencies since 2017. White House National Security Officials said last year that crypto theft and cyber crime have funded half of north Koreas Nuclear program. Russia and venezuela are both using crypto to invade u. S. To evade u. S. Sangs. Venezuela said because of the sanctions they are moving to accept payments in crypto because that allows them to get money we in washington cannot track. Treasury department billions of dollars of crypto currency laundered through a russian es exchange. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorists groups are using crypto to finance terrorist attacks. Crypto is the preferred payment med for feint mill trafficking. They sold enough ingredients to make more than 54 billion worth of fentanyl pill, enough to kill 8. 6 billion people if youre counting. Blockchain Analysis Firm chanalytics said, and i quote, Virtual Currency is the dominant choice for buyers and sellers of child sexual abuse content. Fincen said the same thing. Perpetrators of online child sexual are using Virtual Currencies to avoid detection. These are statistics from u. S. Officials and from crypto firms. People who are entrusted with protecting our National Security and care about this stuff. The Treasury Department asked for new rules to protect this. Every single one of those proposals was objected to either in the Financial Services committee, the ag committee, or the rules committee. If that was all this bill did, that would be one thing. But in fact this bill guess out of its way to make it weaker by basically saying anyone who uses unhosted wallets, is exempted from regulation. Ignoring recommendations about the trump and Biden Administration. My republican colleagues will boast that theres specific language saying that brokers and dealers are required to comply with requirements. Theyre already required to do that. This bill does nothing to address that. Its exactly the same. Youre going to brag about saying its now illegal to speed. What we should have done is ban anonymous actors. Im going to move crypto and you cant tell what a bad guy i am. It should have banned those using Digital Asset mixers and allowed people to combine everything and give them something they cant trace it through. If you want to understand how crazy this is, i encourage you to go to your bank and try to deposit 10,000 in cash in your bank. Your bank will tell you, you have to tell me where the money came from. Well take you behind the counter and take your picture and get your fingerprints because i dont like money laundrying and am obliged to protect it. If you want to move crypto through one account to another and send them through these mixers, you can do it. Ms. Waters i yield to the gentleman an additional half minute. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Casten we have all these mixers that were used, why arent they included in there . I know why crypto doesnt want them in there . Because theyre profiting from those using these services. The Largest Organization who benefited this was involved in a case in tornadoo mixer. It causes huge problems and makes the United States safer for drug traffickers and child and drug traffickers and those that buy and sell child pornography. I did not know those groups had such advocates in congress but proud to oppose them and ask my colleagues to do the same. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i yield two minutes to the gentleman from south dakota, mr. Johnson, chair of the Rural Development subcommittee on the Agriculture Committee. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Johnson here in congress were supposed to be in the problemsolving business and my, oh, my, do we have problems in the Digital Asset space. In recent years weve seen the f. T. X. Debacle that happened under the Regulatory Regime that some members are apparently to enamored with, a regime that does not work today. Weve seen chronic and disruptive overreach by the securities and Exchange Commission. And weve seen innovation and investment flow overseas. Mr. Speaker, they seek markets that are more predictable. We are the only g7 country that hasnt figured this out yet. So clearly we have problems. I would submit that f. I. T. 21 is the conclusion. We, for more than a year, french hill and i working with chairs mchenry and thompson and members on both sides of the aisle have worked hard to together craft a solution that increases regulatory predictability, that increases Consumer Protection, and that will foster innovation. I know that success has many fathers and mothers, so i do want to thank messrs. Mchenry, thompson, hill, emmer, davidson on the republican side. But i do need to especially recognize my colleagues on the democratic side of the aisle, particularly mr. Nickel and ms. Care jayo who invested countless hours in getting this bill right and have been joined by hymes, davis, gottheimer. This success would not be possible without their good faith efforts and i thank them. With that i yield back. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters mr. Speaker and members, its no mystery why the crypto industry prefers to be regulatoried by the cftc rather than the s. E. C. Lets start with the substantial differences in funding and staff for the cftc compared to s. E. C. In 2023, the cftc employed roughly 680 fulltime employees with an annual budget of 365 million, while the securities and Exchange Commission, the s. E. C. , employed over 4,500, and had a budget of over 2 billion. Even with the limitedded funding provided to the cftc under this bill, which is capped at 40 million and set to expire after four years, the cftcs funding would be only 1 5 of the s. E. C. s budget. 40 billion is not sufficient to oversee more than 16,000 crypto currency. Lets not forget the same republicans bringing this bill to the floor are the same ones that proposed cutting cftcs budget last year. Moreover, the cftc is designed to deal mostly with sophisticated Institutional Investors and traders rather than Retail Investors and consumers. Therefore, the cftc does not have the same level of protections for Retail Investors and consumers. And so, mr. Speaker and members, i would simply say that we should look at this example. The cftc has no mandate like the s. E. C. That requires entities to act in the best interest of the investors or to put their clients interests first. This is just another reason why i am very concerned about the light touch Regulatory Regime under the cftc. With that, i now yield five minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. Sherman, who is also the Ranking Member of the subcommittee on Capital Markets. Mr. Sherman last week we had police week. This week the republicans show us that they support crime in the suites. The effectiveness bill short term will be to disempower the most effective Investor Protection Crime Investigation organization in the world, the s. E. C. But the longterm objective of the crypto billionaire bros is to create a new currency and theyve named it well. Crypto currency literally means hidden money. If it ever becomes a currency, it means we will not be able to enforce our tax laws except on wage earners. And well not be able to enforce our laws against child traffickers, drug dealers, and those who violate our sanctions. Now, the crypto bros have a lot of money. They make money by literally making money. They spread it around all of washington. They had sam bankman freed do it and now hes in jail. Others have stepped forward. They have a p. R. Campaign. The lakers dont play at enforced tax laws arena. They dont play at an arena dedicated to Law Enforcement, they play at crypto. Com arena. In spite of all that. The messenger and power, 3 4 of democrats voted no on this bill when it was before our committee. There are those who say they want clarity. We have the chairity. The s. E. C. Has jurisdiction. What they really want is a 5 tina a patina of regulation, as little regulation as possible to claim to be regulatoried. This bill would be enough if we dealt with the original statute. My colleagues had meetings in their offices and were told about this bill weeks ago and some are leaning towards voting for it but they dont know they dropped a new title in the bill a few weeks ago. What does that new title do . Does it prohibit secret waltz, self wallets, selfcustody wallets . No. Does it outlaw the mixers that their sole purpose is to mix up Law Enforcement . No. What does this new title do . It defines an investment contract in a new way, designed to make this bill not just applicable to crypto, but it says our regular stocks and bonds can be put on block chain and have no regulation from the s. E. C. It is a dagger at the hundred trillion Capital Markets that we have that finance our whole economy. It doesnt just say well, youre moving from s. E. C. s tough regulation to the cftcs weak regulation. It allows crypto to get no regulation by defining themselves as an investment contract. So this is a bill that will gut regulation of crypto and may gut regulation of all of our Capital Markets. But it goes beyond that. Its ultimate purpose is to move forward with this crypto currency project. Now, right now crypto is not a currency. You cant there are very few purchases of goods with crypto. You cant buy a sandwich. But if crypto becomes a currencw times, as mr. Casten pointed out, crypto is used by a means of exchange, its used by the worst criminals in the world. But if crypto does become a currency, then well not be able to enforce our other laws. Now, we have to understand, every time a billionaire cheats on his taxes, a member of the Freedom Caucus earns its wings. The patriotic anarchists come forward and say we want a Strong America and we want to destroy the power of the american government. You cant have it both ways. This is a bill that in the short term means no regulation for crypto. Not just lighter regulation under the cftc, but no regulation under their new title. It is a bill that could gut all securities regulation for the stocks and bonds that power the american economy. And then longer term, it creates a competitor to the u. S. Dollar which has one advantage, its right in the name, hidden money, hide your money from the i. R. S. , from our sanctions enforcers, from everyone involved in the u. S. Government. And finally, crypto declares that it wants to partially displace the u. S. Dollar as a reserve currency. If its successful in that the chair the gentlemans time has expired. Ms. Waters an additional 30 seconds. Mr. Sherman you have to understand how important it is. We frankly are not fiscally responsible in this house. We dont collect near as much taxes as we spend in benefits. Were able to do that without too much harm because of the role of the u. S. Dollar as a reserve currency. We have fiscal policies that would make argentina blush but were able to do it. The crypto bros see the incredible amount of power the u. S. Government has by being the worlds reserve currency and they say no, they want to appropriate it for themselves. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady from california reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry how much time, if i may ask . The chair the gentleman from North Carolina has 19 1 2 minutes remaining. The gentlewoman from california has 7 1 2 minutes remaining. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry id like to yield a minute and a half to my colleague and friend from North Carolina, mr. Nickel, who has been a leader on pragmatic policy in the house. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Nickel i rise in support of the 21st century act, or f. I. T. 21 which im proud to cosponsor. This legislation is a product of hundreds and hundreds of hours of bipartisan collaboration and was proud to work with mr. Mchenry and mr. Hill and the Financial Committee to get this bill on the floor. This is a big deal. Were currently relying on 1990s currency law written before the internet existed and Congress Never voted on a regulatory structure for crypto. Roughly 20 of americans have invested, traded, or used crypto, so its not going anywhere. Whether you love crypto or hate it, you should support regulation because the status quo just isnt working and we cant wait for the next f. T. X. To take action. Its clear there are regulatory gaps between the s. E. C. And the cftc. Right now were the Global Leader in Financial Services and technology in the United States. If we still want to hold this position in 50 years, then we need to pass f. I. T. 21. Support for u. S. Leadership in Digital Assets shouldnt be a partisan issue. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation and id like to enter into the record a letter of support from the chamber of progress outlining how f. I. T. 21 lays out strong rules of the road, Consumer Protections, and supports innovation. And i yield back. The chair the gentlemans request is supported by general leave. The gentleman from North Carolina yields. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters id like to yield to my friend. The chair madam from california, can you clarify the time yielded . Ms. Waters four minutes. The chair the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. Thank you, chair waters, for yielding. I rise in opposition to this bill. Im encouraged by the dialogue and collaboration thats taken place on the house Financial Services committee and the House Ag Committee on this bill. I believe in the potential of distributed ledger technology. Im cochair of the block chain caucus and perhaps the only member of congress that actually programmed a block chain client. But this bill i cannot support in its current form. To that end, my office submitted three constructive, clarifying amendments, none of which were made in order by the rules committee. This legislation contains several fatal flaws. First it largely shifts oversight of Digital Assets industry away from the securities and Exchange Commission which has a long track record of successfully protecting Retail Investors from abuse in the Financial Markets, toward the cftc which has traditionally overseen markets with significantly less retail participation. Secondly, it would create a safe harbor for wannabe pirates through a socalled intent to register that shields crypto firms from investment rules before the agencies even have time to write the rules. Thirdly, the bill was not crafted through regular order. This version of the bill contains a new and dangerous title that was never considered by the Financial Services committee, title ii, which would create a new class of quote investment classes, unquote which has the ability to undercut legal precedence and create opportunities for regulatory arbitrage. Instead it was airdropped in in closed door negotiations before it was materialize forward final vote today. Thats not regular order. Finally this bill also fails to address fundamental challenges of Digital Assets related to uncontrolled anonymity of selfhosted digital watt ets that i believe must be addressed for the Digital Asset industry to see to a healthy and Sustainable Future over the long term. For example, to be regular lay y under this bill, no person or group can hold more than 20 of the assets over the preceding 12 months. How can this be guaranteed when unknown numbers are held in selfowned wallets. The s. E. C. Has little or no means of compelling individuals or firms in over couldnt rips to comply with such a requirement. This Beneficial Ownership test could be skewed by noncompliance foreign owners or by individuals spreading their holdings across multiple wallets or by dead or lost crypto that artificially inflates the amount thats currently judged to be in circulation. The list goes on this. Legislation actually ties the hands of the top financial crimes watchdog, the fi fincen, limiting their ability to limiting their ability with retle to digital wallets which theyll tell you is the major issue they struggle with every day trying to prevent financial crimes. Given the widespread use of Digital Assets we should strengthen the authorities of fincen, not weaken them. My colleagues and i offered several constructive amendments to this bill to clarify and address shies issues and the rules committee, controlled by the majority, chose that exclude every one of them from todays debate. Given the cob tent of todays bill and its failure to address the issues, i cannot support this bill and i urge my colleagues to voteno thank you and i yield back. The chair the gentleman from california yields. The gentleman reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i yield two minutes to the gentleman from minnesota, a great leader for cryptoassets and inthe vairks tom emmer. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Emmer today we have an opportunity to determine whether the next iteration of the internet will be designed by americans or if it will instead reflect the values of some other nation. The f. I. T. 21 act gives us that opportunity and unlocks a larger conversation beyond innovation. This bill is about National Security. Its about Consumer Protection. Its about global competitiveness. Its about shaping what the future Global Digital economy looks like and how it functions. Currently, all Online Transactions are intermediated but as we move deep entire the digital age, Digital Assets are key to decentralizes the internet so americans can transact directly with each other, no intermediary needed. Without crypto, we dont have this ability. I think giving americans the choice to do business through an intermediary or directly with each other is important. Having that choice will fundamentally alter the digital economy, unlocking new opportunities for americans and individuals across the world in base havent even begun to contemplate. However this congress can no longer stand by as regulators squand they are opportunity right within our grasp. This administration has demonstrated they simply are not willing to allow the Digital Asset industry to innovate in the United States. For every legal inconsistency or regulatory hurd thail produce, instead of coherent and informed guidance, they drive american Digital Asset users into less safe jurisdictions. Thats why the f. I. T. 21 act is significant. To set clear and consistent rules for american innovators. Among the many important provisions in this bill is my securities clarity act, bipartisan language tailored specific throw Digital Assets that provides the legal flexibility for a Digital Asset project transition from centralization to decentralization. This transition is critical to the future peertopeer digital economy. I thank the chairman and my friends on the other side of the aisle for working with me to incorporate this section into the bill today. Their work on this extensive framework will allow americans to once again lead the way. I yield back. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry may i inquire the time remaining on both sides. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina has 16 minutes remaining. The gentlewoman from california has four minutes. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mchenry thank you. I yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from colorado, who has been a fanst i think leader on the Agriculture Committee on Digital Assets, ms. Caraveo. The chair the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Caraveo i rise in support of h. R. 4763, the financial innovation and technology for the 21st century act, because the time has come for us to establish a comprehensive, regulatory system for Digital Assets. About 70 of Digital Assets are currently unregulated that. Leaves a large number of Retail Investors unprotected in a volatile market where many people have already lost their life savings. There is clearly a gap in oversight over our Digital Asset cash markets and i believe the status quo is unacceptable. Despite previous volatility, a significant number of americans continue to own and invest in Digital Markets in an unprotected manner. As congress falls behind other nations in a race to establish a clear Regulatory Framework, we run the risk of industry players taking their services and customers abroad, including to foreign jurisdictions with insufficient regulations. Since we began this process over a year ago, i made ate point to work across the aisle with chairs thompson and johnson to improve the bill as much as possible. I am happy to report that the bill retains many of the provisions i fought for with run of the most important pieces being a funding mechanism for the cftc. Increased funding will be vital for the cftc as they take on further oversight activities and engage in a rule making process. I would like to thank my colleagues, both democrats and republicans, who have helped strengthen the Consumer Protections in this bill including strengthening disclosure requirements, market integrity and transparency, stricter regulatory requirements for emerging technologies, prohibiting comingling of customer funds with firm funds and establishing the process of temporary oversight before rule making is complete. I am excited about the innovation these technologies have to offer which is why i believe they deserve a comprehensive Regulatory Environment. Making sure customers and Retail Investors are protected as they navigate the space remains a top priority. I believe we have made significant improvements in that direction. Im looking forward to continuing to move this bill forward, taking the first real step to regulate a market and i yield back, thank you. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady reserves. Mr. Mchenry the gentlelady from california has been a great advocate for Consumer Protection. I yield one minute to the gentleman from new mexico, mr. Got hider mr. Gottheimer. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Gottheimer i rise in support of the financial innovation and technology of the 21st century act, the wellreasoned, thoughtful, Bipartisan Legislation is a result of Rigorous Research and bipartisan negotiation by the Financial Service committees which i proudly help lead with representatives mchenry and hill and i want to thank them both on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who work hard to make sure consumers are protect. Crypto currency is here and has a tremendous economic potential for our country. My nate, new jersey, ranks second nationwide in Crypto Ownership by proportion and the key is making sure we protect americans who own it and make sure we can recognize the economic and jobs potential it has to offer. For that, we need rules of the road to guide entrepreneurs and embrace innovators and protect consumers. This bill offers protections that are fit for the 21st century. F. I. T. 21 takes commonsense steps to safeguard consumers and strengthen market oversight. The legislation includes key transparency and Accountability Measures and at the same time f. I. T. 21 eliminates regulatory redundancies would you consider yielding me 30 seconds . Mr. Mchenry i yield the gentleman 30 second. Mr. Gottheimer this legislation spurs americanled innovation, encouraging entrepreneurs to invest here instead of going abroad to other nation with no Consumer Protections. I urge my colleagues to support this innovative and Bipartisan Legislation. Its fit to become law if we Work Together. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlewoman from california reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i now recognize the gentleman from for one minute, the gentleman from new york, mr. Molinaro. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Molinaro for far too long the Crypto Market has been plagued by uncertainties. Americans have fallen victims to scams and hacks after intermediaries misused customer funds and were unable to meet obligations. Thanks to the leadership of chairman mchenry and thompson, representatives dusty johnson and french hill, we finally have a framework, thanks to the work of many, before us today that will set a Regulatory Foundation to protect consumers and innovators alike, all ensuring future American Leadership in this space. This bipartisan bill does provide Consumer Protections in a functional, Regulatory Framework that will ensure the Digital Asset ecosystem is safe for investors. This bill accomplishes this by delivering the transparency consumers expect and need to make informed decisions and prevent brokers from engaging in ma nip la toiv practices that harm american investors this regulatory certainty will also drive financial inclues by promoting technology that can foster Economic Growth in underserved communities and expand opportunities for economic participation. With that, mr. Chairman, i yield my time and encourage my colleagues to support the bill. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i continue to reserve my time. The chair the gentlewoman reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i now yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from ohio, mr. Davidson, who is the vice chair of the Digital Asset subcommittee and an o. G. , as they say, in the crypto space. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Davidson thank you. Rise in strong support of this legislation that builds on the framework my colleagues and i worked on for at least six years beginning with the token tax onmy act in 2018. Its core is a brightline test to determine which diggal assets are securities and which are commodities urn the jurisdiction they have cftc. Innovators and investors will no longer risk their freedoms and fortunes by launching a company and raising capital. Additionally and perhaps most notably this bill also provides first ever federal level protection for selfcustody of Digital Assets. This protection which is very intentional, mirror miskeep your coins act and its a giant step toward restoring the right to privacy and private property, protecting permissionless transactions using Digital Assets. In an accountbased Financial System where americans must rely on intermediaries, selfquds diprovides the only protection against third parties controlling the individuals transactions. Further, selfcustody provides the first line of Consumer Protection where individuals can eliminate Third Party Liabilities to hold their assets. For too long we have pushed innovation and investment overseas as wonk has constantly failed to bring the clarity that we need. We finally have the chance to end this trend and solidify ourselves as the leaders in this city. I urge the senate to quickry take up this Bipartisan Legislation and send it back to the president s desk as soon as possible. Please vote yes and i yield back. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i ask unanimous consent to submit the following statements for the record, the statement of Administration Policy from the Biden Administration opposing this bill. The statement from s. E. C. Chair gints leer chaising serious concerns about this bill. A letter from the Treasury Department to me dated july, 2023, expressing serious concerns about this bill. A letter from that from the north American Securities Administration Association opposing this bill. A letter from 48 stake holders opposing this bill. An excerpt from coin bases form s1 filing acknowledging the risk that coinbase could be found to be illegally acting outside of securities laws. Excerpts from the s. E. C. s complaint against coinbase, alleging that coinbase was illegally acting outside of securities laws and a summary of and excerpt from the decision in the case of s. E. C. Versus coinbase finding that coinbase has indeed, was indeed acting illegally by failing to comply with existing laws. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair without objection. Ts request is covered by general leave. The gentlewoman reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i now recognize for one minute, the gentleman from kansas, mr. Mann. Mr. Mann thank you, mr. Chairman. My home state of kansas is a leader when it comes to new technological developments. Digital asset markets are no exception. As these markets have grown theyve lacked guidance over who has regulatory Enforcement Authority over them. Currently participants are at the hands all without the legislation from congress. I ask my colleagues to support this bill while acknowledging the uniqueness of Digital Assets. We can and should give consumers, developers, and institutions a clear set of rules that provide certainty as they explore this new, innovative technology. Digital assets and related Block Chain Technology have the potential to lead us to the next generation of internet technology. Everyone here should want america to be a place this flourishes and what f. I. T. 21 does and allows america to build on its potential. If we dont act now, we see American Leadership, talent, and innovation an urge my colleagues to vote yes on f. I. T. 21 and i yield back. The chair the gentlewoman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters continue to reserve. The chair the gentlelady from california reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i yield to mr. Flood of nebraska, a great asset in the innovation space. The chair the gentleman from nebraska is recognized. Mr. Flood thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to focus on one aspect of this bill. It is responsive to the Digital Asset market weve seen in the past couple years. In the aftermath of the collapse of f. T. X. In 2022, we need to ensure there are Investor Protection rules that prevent anything from happening like that again in the United States. Under the regulatory structure created by this bill, f. T. X. Would not have been able to register. F. T. X. Would not have been able to commingle customer funds that hurt so many of their investors. Some of my friends on the other side of the aisle have spoken about protecting investors. The great irony is that they are opposing a bill that would do just that. If you believe in Investor Protection, if you believe we need to respond to the disaster of f. T. X. , then we need to pass a bill that would prevent the next f. T. X. The status quo will not work. It did not work in 2022 and it will not work today. With that, i urge my colleagues to support this bill and yield back. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. Ms. Waters continue to reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady from california reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry ill now recognize for one minute, the gentleman from tennessee, on the agriculture and Financial Services committee, mr. Rose. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Rose mr. Speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 4763, the financial innovation and technology, or f. I. T. 21. As a member of the Agriculture Committee and Financial Service committee, im proud to support this bill as a product of a joint effort between both committees. I commend chairman mchenry and chairman thompson for working on this Bipartisan Legislation. This bill confronts the litigation heavy approach towards Digital Assets of the securities and Exchange Commission led by rogue regulator gary gensler. Chair gensler has blown past the s. E. C. Mandate and forced investors and companies to operate in the dark, thus risking the United States standing as a world leader in digital innovation. The f. I. T. For the 21st century act will allow us to reclaim our place as a world leader in innovation and provides clear rules of the road for the crypto currencies. I urge members to join me in voting yes. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters continue to reserve my time. The chair the gentlelady reserves. Mr. Mchenry may i inquire how much time is remaining . The chair seven minutes remaining. The gentlelady from california has four minutes remaining. Mr. Mchenry i now recognize the gentleman from oklahoma, a leader on the Agriculture Committee, former chair of the Agriculture Committee, and great leader on the Financial Services committee, and also chair of the science committee, before i forget. Ill yield you one minute, frank. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The United States has no meaningful federal regulation of the Digital Assets markets, and the attempts by regulators to apply existing laws are arbitrary and unclear. The fact is the status quo does not work. Without a clear federal framework, we fail to provide adequate Consumer Protections and forfeit our international competitiveness. Mr. Lucas this hurts investors and the entire economy. This is why this bill is so important. The legislation establishes a Market Structure framework that accounts for the unique characteristics of Digital Assets, adhering to the Core Principles of the Commodities Exchange act. U. S. Is consumers are actively participating in the Digital Asset market. And we should ensure theyre protected from fraud and scams. This bill does that. Id like to thank chairman mchenry and chairman thompson for all their work on this legislation, and i urge my colleagues to support the bill, and i yield back, mr. Chairman. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i continue to reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady from california reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry ill now recognize the gentleman from michigan, mre oversight Financial Services committee. I yield one minute. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Huizenga thank you, mr. Speaker. Since the first crypto currency was created nearly 15 years ago, the rules governing the currency ecosystem have remained unclear. As i learned as serving as chairman of the Capital Markets committee, regulators have been using opaque guidelines and regulation by enforcement, meanwhile congress has been working on a bipartisan path forward. Digital assets have the potential to revolutionize Payment Systems in the United States by allowing Financial Systems to become more efficient and more accessible to consumers. By passing a comprehensive structure framework, responsible actors now will have greater certainty and consumers will have greater protection from bad actors. Mr. Speaker, our markets are the envy of the world. We must not cede any ground. American innovation is a critical element of job creation and Economic Opportunity here in the United States. Congress must look to preserve this competitive advantage and not let it leave our shores. The f. I. T. 21 act is a historic first step, and i urge all my colleagues to support this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i continue to reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina. Mr. Mchenry does the gentlelady have any more speakers . Ms. Waters if the gentleman has no more speakers, im prepared to close. Mr. Mchenry i now recognize the gentlelady from california, mrs. Kim, for one minute. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Kim thank you, mr. Mchenry. Millions from all backgrounds sees Digital Assetses as one of the many options to take wealth generation in their own hands. Unfortunately, the u. S. Is falling behind compared to other countries, and we have yet to establish a viable Regulatory Framework for Digital Assets. H. R. 4763 establishes a much needed Digital Asset Market Structure framework that provides clear rules for Digital Asset firms while providing robust Consumer Protections. Thus, i believe this bill is very fit for the 21st century. The f. I. T. 21 act would enable innovation to flourish and the United States to lead the world in the development of Digital Assets. The e. U. , the u. K. , hong kong, and the list goes on have established or are in the process of establishing a Regulatory Framework. The development of technologies and new Financial Services tools should be taking place here, not elsewhere. I urge a yes vote on h. R. 4763. And with that, i yield the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlelady from california continues to reserve. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i now yield to the chair of the House Administration committee, a great member of the Financial Services committee and innovation policy, mr. Style, for one minute. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Style i rise in support of the f. I. T. 21 act. Block chain and Digital Assets are transforming finance and reshaping in particular the way internet works. But responsible innovators are being held back by stubborn washington bureaucrats and pushing jobs and opportunities overseas. For the First Time Since generations, the u. S. Is at risk on missing out on leading the next wave of technology. F. I. T. 21 provides clear rules for Digital Assets and related businesses. It protects consumers and strengthens transparency and accountability. And it reestablishes the United States as a technology leader. I urge my colleagues to support the bill and bring jobs and opportunities and Digital Assets to the United States. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlelady from california continues to reserve. Ms. Waters continue to reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i now yield one minute to the gentleman from utah, mr. Curtis. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Curtis i rise in favor of the f. I. T. 21 act, which establishes much needed Regulatory Framework for Digital Assets. Currently, the lack of clear direction from congress combined with the broad definition of securities and commodities has allowed the s. E. C. To insert itself into the regulation of crypto currency. This has created uncertainty and hindered innovation. Meanwhile, other countries like singapore, u. A. E. And even china have capitalized on our unclear Regulatory Environment and have developed their own framework, positioning themselves as hubs for the Digital Asset ecosystem. I believe the United States and utah, silicon slopes, boasts a growing and thriving block Chain Industry should be the Global Center for Digital Assets. This bill creates an appropriate framework for crypto currency regulation that fosters innovation and ensures the u. S. leadership in Block Chain Technology and prevents against bad actors like f. T. X. The f. I. T. 21 aligns the s. E. C. With a proper role role and designates the Futures Commission as the prime regulatory. With that i yield my time. The chair the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters continue to reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady reserves. Mr. Mchenry im prepared to close and i reserve. The chair the gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters mr. Chair, i yield myself the balance of the time. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters as weve heard today the entities that stand to benefit from this bill are not ordinary investors trying to build wealth but rather, the crypto firms that have chosen to register with the s. E. C. Or otherwise comply with the security laws. Theyve already made billions of dollars novelishing or facilitating the buying and selling of crypto securities. And republicans are now proposing to reward these illegal activities by making these activities legal. This is truly preposterous. You know, mr. Lynch, when he spoke, he said this was one of the worst pieces of legislation he has experienced through his entire career. And i understand why when i examine this bill and