WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement after voting against cloture on the CLARITY Act:
“I have long believed Congress needs to establish clear rules of the road for digital assets that protect consumers, safeguard our national security, and give responsible companies the certainty they need to operate in the United States.
“But we cannot pass landmark legislation governing this industry while allowing the President of the United States to personally profit from it. The president should not be able to use the power and influence of his office to benefit his own crypto holdings while his administration makes decisions that could directly affect their value. At a minimum, any serious crypto legislation must include meaningful ethics requirements that prevent the president and other senior government officials from profiting off the policies they oversee.
“I want to get to yes on responsible digital asset legislation, and no one has worked harder or spent more time engaging in good faith to try to get this done. We got close to resolving some of the toughest outstanding issues around law enforcement and national security, but ultimately, the failure to address this fundamental conflict of interest made it impossible for me to support moving forward. That is why I voted no today.”
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