Key takeaways:
- An updated version of the CLARITY Act may be revealed immediately after the meeting with Donald Trump (probably on July 17), but it faces serious political barriers from the very beginning.
- The main axis of the conflict are regulations regarding ethics and Trump’s potential connections with the crypto industry – for Democrats it is a necessary condition, for Republicans it is a controversial element that in its current form does not meet their expectations.
- The lack of compromise across divisions means that even quick proceedings before the August break may not be enough.
CLARITY Act in its final version
Work on the regulations has been going on for months, but has stalled. The key problem remains the provision on ethics, which is in fact an attempt to deal a blow to businesses associated with Trump and the cryptocurrency industry. For Democrats, including these provisions is a necessary condition for support, without which the bill has no chance of passing the Senate.
Moreno himself added that the document will require careful analysis. He also emphasized that after months of negotiations, it was time to vote, although the president himself first asked for a detailed discussion of the project. Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, who also attended the meeting, expressed similar expectations.
The bill will not “pass” the Senate?
Republicans want to push the bill through before the August recess in Congress, but Democrats remain adamant. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona, one of the lead negotiators, made it clear that the version presented did not contain sufficiently strong ethical provisions:
This is not a compromise we can agree to. The current proposals give the president too much discretion and do not provide adequate consumer protection.
Other Democrats take an equally critical stance. In their opinion, the project presented to the White House is “weaker” than what the party would be willing to accept. What’s more, Democrats didn’t even have a chance to read its final version.
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey stressed that talks are still ongoing and should not be interrupted before an agreement is reached. In his opinion, the only real way to pass the bill is a compromise across political divisions.
Despite the criticism, Moreno remains convinced that the bill contains “the strongest ethical provisions in the history of American legislation.” However, without the support of Democrats, even the most ambitious declarations may prove insufficient.
