The U.S. House Financial Services Committee has passed Chairman Patrick McHenry’s Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act with bipartisan support. McHenry said committee members, unlike the White House, understood the urgency and importance of providing clarity for payment stablecoins. Sheila Warren, the CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, described the bill’s passage as the “first steps toward a legislative foundation for stablecoins in the U.S.”
Landmark Legislation Close to Becoming Law
After holding negotiations for fifteen months, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee passed the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act on July 27 with bipartisan support. According to the committee’s chairperson, Patrick McHenry, the bill’s passage means “this landmark legislation is one step closer to becoming law.”
#BREAKING: Chairman @PatrickMcHenry's Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act passes the Financial Services Committee with BIPARTISAN support.
After fifteen months of bipartisan collaboration, this landmark legislation is one step closer to becoming law. pic.twitter.com/vCiyqjyAAf
— Financial Services GOP (@FinancialCmte) July 28, 2023
Confirmation of the bill’s passage came after an eventful day which at one point saw McHenry blast the White House for frustrating the committee’s hopes of reaching a bipartisan agreement. McHenry, the U.S. Representative for North Carolina, claimed committee members — unlike the White House — understood the urgency and importance of providing clarity for payment stablecoins.
“A bipartisan deal was within reach—we were closer than we’ve ever been. A few small, but nonetheless important, provisions stood between us and a deal. It was the White House’s unwillingness to compromise that has once again brought negotiations to a halt,” McHenry said.
The Republican also commended the New York Department of Financial Services superintendent Adrienne Harris for what he described as “her invaluable contributions.”
Following the bill’s passage, Sheila Warren, the CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, described this as the “first steps toward a legislative foundation for stablecoins in the U.S.” Warren, who acknowledged the “fireworks” which preceded the bill’s passage, said the step once again showed that the United States’ process of legislating is still difficult. However, she said the bill’s bipartisan support had proven to the world that “regulating crypto in the US is not a partisan issue.”
The CEO, like fellow crypto proponents who have been calling on the U.S. to take the lead in establishing clear rules for the industry, also highlighted how a regulatory regime can foster innovation and as well as “provide critical protections for consumers.”
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