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Floor Speech

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Ms. LUMMIS. Mr. President, today is a day I have been working toward for over 4 months. After months of intense negotiations, we are minutes away from passing the GENIUS Act, Senator Bill Hagerty's legislation that will be a first step toward modernizing the American payment system and integrating digital assets into the U.S. economy in a responsible way.

I want to congratulate my friend Senator Hagerty for this achievement and thank him for his incredible leadership on this bill. He has been a true ally of the digital asset industry, and I am so proud to have worked with him on his GENIUS Act over the past few months.

Since 2017, Wyoming has been on the forefront of digital asset policy, long before it was popular or politically expedient. In Wyoming, we recognized early on what the rest of the country is beginning to understand: that digital assets are a force for good and that you can have both responsible innovation and consumer protection side by side.

The GENIUS Act protects the dual banking system and gives stablecoin issuers a real choice between State and Federal charters, preserving the innovative spirit that has also made States like Wyoming leaders in this space while also ensuring we have robust oversight when necessary.

This legislation is also about economic security and opportunity. It protects the U.S. dollar's role as the world's reserve currency by ensuring that dollar-backed stablecoins remain strong and reliable. Most of all, it ensures American consumers and businesses can participate in the digital economy with confidence and security.

The sobering reality is that even while we have been negotiating, other nations have been hard at work offering their own frameworks and encouraging the digital asset industry to call their respective countries home. America's role as the global financial services leader is a privilege, not a right, and we must innovate to compete with other nations that want to attract American businesses.

This is only the first step. Congress must pass comprehensive market structure legislation in the coming months that draws the line between a security and a commodity and creates a pathway for digital asset exchanges to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Working on this legislation has begun in earnest, and in the coming weeks, the Senate will begin to hold hearings and release draft legislation on this critical topic. I look forward to working with Chairman Scott, Leader Thune, and Senator Tillis on getting market structure done this year.

I am proud to deliver on President Trump's promise to lead the most pro-digital asset administration in our history. He understands that making America the crypto capital of the world isn't just good policy; it is an economic imperative. This legislation proves that when we work together, we can craft solutions that protect consumers without sacrificing innovation.

The time for hesitation has passed. The time for leadership is now. I want to thank Leader Thune and Chairman Scott for their unwavering commitment to getting this critical piece of legislation across the finish line. I want to thank my colleagues and our staff for the absurd number of hours that we spent in windowless rooms over the last weeks to bring this bill to the finish line.

It is not too late for America to show the world that our Nation doesn't just adapt to change; we lead it. Let's get GENIUS passed and secure America's financial future.

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