Key Takeaways
- Senator Thune plans a pre-recess cloture vote on the CLARITY Act, teeing it up for September.
- This scheduling move signals strong GOP commitment to unlocking crypto investments and jobs.
- Unresolved stablecoin and ethics disputes threaten to block the 60 votes needed for final passage.
CLARITY Act Motion Cloture Vote To Be Filed Before Recess
While the discussion and a possible cloture vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act are being delayed as the Senate goes into a one-month recess, Republicans want to signal there is real interest in passing the bill.
Eleanor Terrett, host of Crypto in America, reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune intends to file for a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the CLARITY Act before leaving for the August recess, preparing the bill for a September vote even with the midterm elections looming.
“The move would tee up a vote on the Clarity Act in September and is being viewed as a positive signal that GOP leadership intends to make the bill a priority when the Senate returns,” Terrett assessed.
Even if a cloture vote is programmed by September, there is still work to be done, as Terrett identifies two rising issues that would prevent CLARITY from getting the 60 votes it needs to pass: The issue of stablecoin yield, which has been raised again by the banking lobby, and the ethics provision, which is currently being negotiated with the White House.
At least two Republican senators have stated they will vote against the bill if there are no changes to protect community banks from being hit by stablecoin yields. The White House has still not responded to a new ethics provision proposal that would include divestments for the President and government officials with a stake in crypto companies.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong showed appreciation for Thune’s commitment to the initiative, stressing that “a clear federal market structure law will unlock more investment, more innovation, and more jobs in the United States while giving consumers the protections they deserve.”
Even so, analysts agree that the window for passing CLARITY in September is narrow, as it will have only 14 days in session to wrap up this and other relevant bills before the October recess, when senators will return to their home states for their midterm election campaigns.
