The chairman of the Digital Assets Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, Bryan Steil, stated that the main obstacle currently facing the Clarity bill is not the content of the bill itself, but rather the procedural differences in legislation advancement between the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The thresholds for the House of Representatives and the Senate are different.
Steil says that the House of Representatives adopts a majority rule system, and after consensus is reached within the party and across parties, the leadership can arrange a vote. The Senate is different; before a bill enters formal debate, it usually needs to first overcome a procedural threshold of 60 votes.
He views the upcoming procedural vote in September as a critical juncture at present, stating that this hurdle is more difficult to overcome in the Senate compared to the House of Representatives. However, he also noted that the Senate already has enough votes in favor of the bill itself, and the focus now is to move the bill onto the debate stage.
Democratic Party support votes exceeded expectations.
Steil also mentioned that the bill received support from 78 Democratic members during the voting in the House of Representatives, which is significantly higher than the initial estimate of 20 to 30 votes. He believes that this indicates that digital asset policy is not inherently a matter of partisan opposition.
According to him, some members of parliament switched to supporting the relevant arrangements after the bill actually went to a vote, one of the reasons being their consideration of innovation and the competitiveness of American technology. He stated that the underlying technology of digital assets is more closely related to the issue of "supporting American innovation" rather than simply taking a political stance.
Review of Financial Legislation at the New York Hearing
To commemorate the approximately first anniversary of the passage of the Clarity Act by the House of Representatives, a subcommittee led by Steil held a public hearing at the Federal Hall in New York. This is the site where the United States Congress first convened in 1789 and is also related to discussions regarding the early financial system of the United States.
Steil linked the current digital asset legislation in his speech with the regulatory framework established after the introduction of the Securities Acts in 1933 and 1934, which was tied to the US dollar system. He stated that the United States is once again at a pivotal point of adjustment in its financial and technological systems, with the goal of continuing to serve as an important market for digital asset innovation and development.
Short-term judgment on anti-technology sentiment
Regarding the recent skeptical attitude of some progressive Democrats towards the crypto industry and new technologies, Steil believes that this is more of a short-term phenomenon and will not change the direction of continued technological development.
He gave an example, stating that when ATMs first appeared, there were also concerns about their impact on employment and the economy, but technology was ultimately widely adopted. In his judgment, even if the Clarity Act fails to pass, the construction of digital asset infrastructure will not stop. The only difference is whether it will proceed under a clearer regulatory framework or continue to develop in an environment with unclear rules.
