House Financial Services Chairman French Hill said the Senate will face a key test on the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15, when lawmakers are scheduled to hold a procedural vote on advancing the crypto market-structure bill.
Hill made the comments in a Fox Business interview shared by House Financial Services Committee Republicans. The vote will test whether the bill has enough support to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote procedural hurdle.
Negotiations remain focused on ethics rules covering public officials and their involvement with digital assets. Those provisions have become a sticking point as lawmakers seek broader bipartisan support.
Hill said senators have spent about a year working through differences between committee proposals. He also pointed to the House’s passage of the bill, which received 78 Democratic votes.
He said the Sept. 15 vote will show whether Democrats and Republicans can reach a deal. “This important vote that Leader Thune has scheduled for September 15th around 3 PM will make the determination: can Democrats work with Republicans and make sure America leads the world in distributed ledger technology and financial services?” he said.
The vote would not amount to final passage. If the bill advances, senators would still consider amendments before sending it back to the House.
The CLARITY Act would establish rules for digital assets and clarify the roles of federal and state regulators. House lawmakers are expected to leave Washington after Sept. 17.
If the Senate changes the bill, the House could have only a short window to review the revisions. That would leave lawmakers with less time to resolve differences before the recess.
