CLARITY Act Delayed Amid Senate Calendar Congestion

The passage of the CLARITY Act, a bill aimed at regulating digital assets and improving transparency in crypto markets, is being delayed due to Senate calendar congestion. According to Senator Cynthia Lummis, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Digital Assets, the chamber has multiple priorities vying for limited floor time before lawmakers leave for August recess.

The CLARITY Act is competing with a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September, a reconciliation package, Russia sanctions legislation, and a name-image-and-likeness bill. Lummis stated that the chamber will likely work through the weekend instead of finishing by Friday as originally hoped.

Lummis noted that negotiators are still refining law enforcement language in the bill, which has started drawing support from law enforcement groups. She highlighted an unprecedented provision: the president agreed to limit his own activity under the ethics provision. However, Democrats have sent back a counterproposal now sitting with the White House.

Senator Lummis attributed responsibility for the bill's fate to those who don't provide the votes, saying 'If this bill dies, the Democrats are going to have to kill it.' She tied the broader slowdown to the midterms, pointing to Michigan's tight Democratic Senate primary as a sign of where party energy is shifting. The senator expects Republicans to narrowly hold the Senate and confirmed she'll campaign for Republican candidate Mike Rogers.