Investing in A New Vision for the Environment and Surface

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. LUMMIS. Mr. President, I want to say a few words about the Wyden- Lummis-Toomey amendment that is ready before the Senate to vote on tonight.

America is, at its core, a country of innovators. It is written into our DNA. It is why we were the first country to develop a computer, land on the Moon, and develop the internet.

Right now, our financial system is evolving before our eyes, much in the same way that the internet first began to find a foothold in the mid-1990s. Distributed ledgers, digital assets, and other forms of financial technology are in the early stages of transforming the way we share and store value.

These technologies have the potential, if implemented properly, to create a vast, new economic opportunity, reduce systemic risk in our economy, and provide for faster payments and create a more inclusive financial system. These are principles that all Americans can agree on.

America has a heritage of being the global leader in financial services, and this has created enormous wealth and opportunity in this Nation. But we must be careful not to rest on our laurels. America's leadership in the global economy is a privilege, not a right, and one we must earn through innovation and hard work.

Europe, China, Singapore, and other nations have a head start on the United States in implementing financial technology and integrating it into their economies. We have a window to catch up because the U.S. dollar is still the world's reserve currency and because our central role in payments and the capital markets put us there. But let's not make a mistake here; we still have a lot of catching up to do.

The digital asset reporting provisions in the infrastructure bill is one of the first times the Senate has been required to grapple with the opportunities and risks of digital assets.

I thank Senator Portman for bringing attention to this very important issue: the issue of ensuring tax compliance in the digital asset markets. Everyone should be paying the taxes they owe under the law, and I support the spirit of this provision.

I also want to thank Senator Portman for his willingness to work with me over the last week to make changes to the language currently in the bill. It has come a long way. But even with these changes, it isn't quite ready to become law.

The Wyden-Lummis-Toomey amendment is very simple. It clarifies in law what most of us already believe, that validators of distributed ledger data like miners and stakers, hardware wallet providers, and software developers should be required to report transactional data to the Internal Revenue Service. This is common sense.

The most important thing this amendment does is say in plain English what the law means. This is so important to startups, small business owners, and ordinary Americans who want to take a risk on their ideas. In many cases, these Americans can't hire a fancy lawyer to tell them what a complicated law means.

The amendment makes clear that Congress is about to have a really important debate on the legal status of digital assets as securities or commodities and the appropriate regulatory framework in which to house digital assets.

We must make sure that the validators of distributed ledger assets-- like miners and stakers, hardware wallet providers, and software developers--are not in a position to report transaction data to the Internal Revenue Service.

Mr. President, this amendment is the first step in a long journey towards America renewing its commitment to innovation and retaining its role as the leader in the global economy. This is why Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Toomey, and I brought this amendment forward. It is because we care deeply about the future of American innovation, and we want to see thoughtful debate and good public policy around these issues.

I am very thankful to Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Toomey, Senator Sinema, Senator Portman, and others for allowing us to have this debate today. It will be the first of many in the coming years.

I urge my colleagues to thoughtfully consider Senate amendment No. 2498 and to support it when it comes up for a vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source