Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 580, I call up the bill (S. 1582) to provide for the regulation of payment stablecoins, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Senate GENIUS Act, and I thank my colleague and longtime friend, Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, for his leadership in ushering this bipartisan bill through the United States Senate.

Around the world, payment systems are undergoing an evolution. New technologies are modernizing legacy infrastructure and unlocking innovative solutions to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and expand access to financial services.

Members of the House Financial Services Committee have long recognized the promise of payment stablecoins and have worked since 2022 to establish a legislative framework.

Last Congress, under the leadership of former Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, the committee passed the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2023. This bill provided for bank and nonbank pathways for issuers to obtain regulatory approval, preserve State- level oversight, and set standards for reserve composition, audits, and sound risk management.

When the 119th Congress started in January, we picked up this effort. In close coordination with the Senate Banking Committee and our base legislation, our legislative work over the past 2 years has laid that foundation for the progress made in both the House and the Senate.

Today, we have an opportunity to send stablecoin legislation to President Trump's desk. This is a multi-Congress priority item, and it ensures American competitiveness and strong guardrails for our consumers. We should not, Mr. Speaker, squander that opportunity.

This priority has been agreed to by both President Biden, with his executive order, and President Trump in his Executive Order 14178.

Mr. Speaker, through multiple versions of stablecoin legislation, the House and Senate have shared ideas and crafted workable approaches. Our joint efforts before us helped enhance the legislation on the floor this morning.

I recognize the hard work of my friends in the Senate to get the core fundamentals of what payment stablecoin legislation demands.

I also recognize the diligence and thoughtful work of my colleagues here in the House, including the chairman of our Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence, Bryan Steil, who championed and worked through our committee through markup in successfully designing, writing, and passing in committee the STABLE Act.

I thank my House colleagues for their principled approach to key policies that guided and distinguished our efforts particularly around State regime oversight, the reserve composition, the anti-money laundering, and territorial integrity issues around stablecoins, and, finally, the corporate structure of issuers.

Furthermore, it is my firmly held belief that only by enacting payment stablecoin legislation and, Mr. Speaker, I repeat, and comprehensive market structure reform in this Congress, like we just debated a few minutes ago, the CLARITY Act, only by passing both will this Congress fully usher in the era of digital finance and ensure that consumers are protected whenever they engage with digital assets.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill and sending it forward to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for President Trump to sign into law.

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. I would like to address a few of those points.

One, I am so delighted to hear that it sounds as if my friend, the ranking member from California, in fact, will now vote for the CLARITY Act this afternoon on the House floor since she highlights some of my suggested changes to the GENIUS Act. I appreciate her remarks on that.

Here is the big picture, Mr. Speaker. These bills, the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts, are about protecting American consumers, protecting investments, bringing capital back to the United States, and making the U.S. a fintech leader in payments and digital assets.

Consumers are protected. The rules are straightforward. All issuers of a payment stablecoin are treated the same, with high standards and high regulatory oversight. I want to make sure that those at home following on C-SPAN get the record straight.

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I really have to say that I believe the GENIUS Act is an important component for preserving and enhancing the United States dollar as the reserve currency around the world.

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I recognize the chair of our Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence, who crafted the STABLE Act, which is the base text that led to this joint, good work between the House and Senate.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil).

Mr. Speaker, this bill, the GENIUS Act, and the bill we debated a few minutes ago, the CLARITY Act, are all about consumer protection. There are no rules federally across the board in the digital asset space at all now. That is why we have seen consumers hurt by the lack of a regulatory framework. I have to say, Mr. Speaker, in total contrast to my friends on the other side of the aisle, that is what we are all here for today.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your continuing reminder to the Members in the Chamber to refrain from engaging in personalities. Yet it has routinely become a part of our morning, so I have to inquire as to how long we are going to let this go on, Mr. Speaker. I want to make sure all the Members in the Chamber adhere to rule XVII.

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying that we are here on the floor, where we have heard a vigorous debate about dollar-backed payment stablecoins. Our committee has worked under both Democratic leadership with Ms. Waters and Republican leadership to research this, talk about it, think about it, and have hearings about it for over 5 years now. We come to the House floor today with a bill before us that, while not perfect, is a good bill, as has been evidenced by our speakers on the floor.

S. 1582, the GENIUS Act, is a simple, bipartisan bill that is long overdue and is based on that bipartisan work in both Chambers. Wow, we are actually legislating. We are seeing bills passed in both Chambers. It is exciting for me to see the good work of my friend, Chairman Tim Scott of the Banking Committee, in leading a policy-driven effort to put America's financial leadership first. S. 1582, as written by Bill Hagerty, does exactly that.

Mr. Speaker, 68 Senators voted for this bill in the United States Senate. A cloture-proof margin is only 60, but here 68 Senators came together, including 18 Democrats. They vigorously debated this bill, worked on it, improved it, modified it, and sent it to us in the House.

Likewise, Chairman Steil here in the House worked with those Senators on both sides of the aisle all along the way to take the ideas that we had here in the House in our markup and our STABLE Act and improve the GENIUS Act.

With this legislation today, on a bipartisan basis, we are modernizing our financial infrastructure, streamlining transactions, lowering costs, and expanding financial tools for everyday Americans. This is about putting American innovation first. It is about creating a future where innovation is met with clarity, not confusion; where American ingenuity is empowered, not stifled, by an outdated, not-fit- for-purpose regulatory regime.

The GENIUS Act will help maintain U.S. global leadership in financial technology, digital innovation, and the power of the reserve currency-- the United States dollar--while reinforcing important consumer protections and critical regulatory oversight where it is needed most.

This is commonsense, forward-looking legislation that reminds me of the earliest days of this House Chamber agreeing in 1996 not to tax or regulate the internet, but to tax and regulate how people use the internet. This is a keen example of that principles-based legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the GENIUS Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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