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House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN-06) said his amendment to ban the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from funding its enforcement actions against crypto companies with taxpayer money until Congress gives the industry regulatory clarity has passed the House. Emmer attached the amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act on Nov. 8, and it passed unopposed.
"Gary Gensler is as ineffective as he is incompetent. Fortunately, my nonpartisan appropriations amendment to reign in SEC enforcement abuses against the digital asset industry passed the House today with no opposition. Congress will hold unelected bureaucrats accountable. My amendment prohibits the SEC from using taxpayer-funded resources to pursue enforcement actions against the digital asset industry until Congress passes legislation that authorizes regulatory enforcement jurisdiction," said Emmer.
The budget proposal of the House needs reconciliation with the Senate's budget by Nov. 17, CoinTelegraph reported. Otherwise, temporary funding approval would be required by the legislature to avoid a government shutdown. Rep. Tim Burchett (TN-02) also criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler, proposing an amendment on Nov. 7 to reduce his salary to $1.
Members of Congress have introduced multiple bills aiming at providing more regulatory clarity for the digital asset industry, such as the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, and Keep Your Coins Act, according to CoinTelegraph's report.
A recent report from the SEC's Office of Inspector General acknowledges that "gaps exist in regulation of crypto asset activities in United States."
Chris Larsen, co-founder and executive chairman of crypto exchange Ripple, expressed his concern over legal uncertainty surrounding digital asset industry causing many innovators moving out of U.S into other countries."The last three years we’ve seen a rogue administrative state that needs to be held accountable for its actions – not just an investigation into conflicts of interests that led to these baseless claims, but how the U.S. actively demolished its global standing as the home for innovation, with thousands of jobs moving overseas,” said Larsen.
Failure to advance comprehensive cryptocurrency regulations could cause the United States to be less attractive for both firms and investors, particularly in a context where many other jurisdictions are moving forward with comprehensive rules, according to a June report from Moody's Investors Service.
