Reporter's Notebook: Countdown is on as Senate races to pass crypto, college sports bills
It’s a twofer in the Senate.Senators return to Washington Monday for the first time since the wee hours of Aug. 8. The Senate’s slated to meet for three weeks before...
By Fox News · Fox News
It’s a twofer in the Senate. Senators return to Washington Monday for the first time since the wee hours of Aug. 8. The Senate’s slated to meet for three weeks before heading home for the midterms – if the session even goes that long. There are a lot of items senators want to tackle. But only two big ones are lined up for test votes right now. The first legislative vote is locked in. It’s a procedural vote on a measure to regulate cryptocurrency. That comes Tuesday afternoon. The bill needs 60 votes to be in play. REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: SUMMER ENDS, BUT THE SENATE'S FALL CRUNCH BEGINS There’s no bigger advocate for cryptocurrency than President Trump. He’s pushing for the Senate to move legislation. "We ended the war on crypto once and for all," said the President. "Now we need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act." Let’s clarify what the Clarity Act does. The measure clarifies federal rules for digital currencies and tokens. The framework would divide oversight between two regulators: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC). Approval of the bill would be the first step toward establishing guardrails for cryptocurrency . "We passed the Clarity Act in the House last summer with 78 Democratic votes. It's now time for the Senate to join us," said House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., on Fox Business. The package has bipartisan support. But there’s a roadblock coming from the Democrats. "The one remaining significant issue, I think, is the ethics provision," said Hill. President Trump’s own financial disclosure report reveals he earned $1.4 billion on cryptocurrency last year alone. That’s why Democrats want specific rules for the Trump family and crypto. "It basically exempts the President from any kind of ethical constraints. And that's just not going to fly in the Democratic caucus," said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., says the bill is t…