A key Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee is urging House members to pass a stablecoin legislation bill. U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the House Financial Services Committee’s ranking Democrat, spoke at a Tuesday hearing to push for an 11th-hour compromise on a bill to regulate stablecoins.
The hearing was initially the stage for a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight hearing. However, Waters also took the time to urge the Republican chairman to finish the stablecoin regulation bill before the end of 2024, saying that they are “running out of time. “I want us to strike a grand bargain on stablecoins and other long overdue bills,” Waters said to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). “I strongly believe we can reach a deal that prioritizes strong protections for our nation’s consumers and strong federal oversight.
McHenry did respond positively, saying that it’s his hope “that we can come to terms on stablecoin legislation this Congress.” However, he added, “The nature of how we do that is where things get a little tougher and the votes are a little tougher.”
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U.S House Committee Criticizes SEC for Crypto and Stablecoin Regulation
Waters and McHenry had previously worked for months on a compromise bill on stablecoin regulation. However, it has not gotten onto the ground running, lacking bipartisan support. Waters bringing up the bill would turn the SEC oversight hearing into a crypto debate, with members of the House Financial Services Committee criticizing the SEC for its “reckless agenda” against the crypto industry. The SEC has a long-standing history of creating obstacles for the growing industry to flourish, including its long battle before passing crypto ETFs.
“Under Chair Gensler, the SEC has become a rogue agency,” McHenry said. The committee then began to question Genler on the SEC’s logic behind calling cryptocurrency a security, to which he responded “It’s less about the terms; it’s more about the economics.”
“Words have meaning,” McHenry responded, arguing the agency is causing “a lack of clarity.” The congressman is set to retire at the end of this year. Thus, Congresswoman Waters is hoping that she and the committee chairman can get the bill through before he leaves his post.