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Source: Congress.gov
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Without objection, the committee will come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time. Without objection, all members shall have five legislative days within which to submit additional materials to the chair for inclusion in the record. A quorum, being present, will now proceed to today's business. Since we don't have votes today, we're going to just as expeditiously as possible work to complete our debate. And if we need to, we can recess briefly along the way, and we'll reconvene for recorded votes. But we'll proceed until we finish today's work. Let me recognize myself for an opening statement. Good morning. Since we kicked off the 119th Congress, our members have been hard at work crafting legislative solutions to difficult problems. Today, we will consider several bills to promote financial innovation and expand access to financial services. Three of these bills are part of our ongoing effort to promote financial innovation through sound digital asset policy, while the other two seek to enhance access to credit by removing compliance burdens and fostering greater competition through new bank formations. Payment stablecoins present a new and flexible payment innovation. This largely frictionless finance will simplify the ability to move money around the world in an instant. But as with all new technologies, new and difficult risks can emerge. In this committee, we have openly discussed the potential risks surrounding digital assets. Members in this room on both sides of the aisle have now spent years collaborating on stablecoin legislation, including leadership under ranking member Waters, both as ranking member and as chair.
We've all come to the important conclusion, innovation needs guardrails, not roadblocks. The STABLE Act, championed by Subcommittee Chair Brian Stile, is just that. To date, state regulation has allowed stablecoin ecosystem to develop in the United States, but for payment stablecoins to reach their full potential, a clear federal framework must be an option. Moreover, several foreign jurisdictions have established or are developing regulatory frameworks for payment stablecoins, making the enactment of a U.S. framework essential for our global competitiveness. Blockchain technology continues to transform the way money moves. The fact is policymakers, regulators, and law enforcement must keep up with these changes. Representatives Nunn and Heim's leadership on the Financial Technology Protection Act will ensure that government is informed, equipped, and coordinated on emerging financial technologies. The working group established under the bill will bring law enforcement and firms in the digital asset ecosystem together to come up with ideas to improve anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism, and countering other illicit financing efforts. Committee Republicans have been clear. Digital asset policies must promote private sector innovation and foster competition to ensure the United States remains the world's leader in global payments. The Federal Reserve cannot issue a digital currency without congressional authority. Majority Whip Emmer's Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act represents years of work and ensures that Americans' financial privacy by prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC without explicit congressional authorization. In this committee, we are committed to increasing access to financial services for small businesses, consumers, and households. Small Business Committee Chair Roger Williams' 1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act is crucial to ensure that small businesses have access to competitive, cost-effective credit from their local financial institutions.
Importantly, Financial Institution Subcommittee Chair Andy Barr's Promoting New Bank Formation Act creates a phase-in period for de novo financial institutions to meet capital standards, helping to promote in a prudential manner new entrants to serve growing communities. The reality is that small financial institutions have struggled mightily under an increasingly heavy regulatory burden since the 1990s. Allowing new bank entrepreneurs time and flexibility to open their doors will boost competition and expand access to credit for the financially vulnerable Americans and our communities. I look forward to the discussion today. I thank members on both sides of the aisle for their work on these important pieces of legislation, and I yield back. I now recognize the ranking member for an opening statement.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. When I was chair of this committee, I launched the congressional effort to create a federal framework around stable coins. I wanted robust protections, especially in the wake of major crypto scams that robbed investors of their life savings. After years of hard work, former McHenry and I, came to a bipartisan agreement, while not perfect, was a great step in that direction. And Mr. Chairman, I think you worked also with Mr. McHenry to come to where we had decided we could agree on a number of things. But things have changed. Since last Congress, President Trump has come into office and leveraged the power of the presidency to establish multiple crypto schemes to enrich himself and his family from a fraudulent meme coin, which collectively lost his investors $2 billion, while him and his family pocketed $350 million to a crypto reserve that boosts the price of crypto held by him and his cabinet to most recently launching in the middle of our negotiation his own stable coin through World Liberty Financial. It's a display of greed. So Mr. Chairman, I attempted to talk to you last week and what I really wanted was
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