Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1602) to direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to jointly establish a digital asset working group, and for other purposes.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1602, the Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021.

Digital assets are a fast-growing but poorly understood area of finance and technology, and I believe this bipartisan legislation will help Americans, small businesses, fintechs, and financial institutions using digital assets to better understand the legal and regulatory landscape.

Last Congress, the Committee on Financial Services established the Task Force on Financial Technology, which was chaired by Congressman Lynch, who is co-leading this bipartisan bill with Ranking Member McHenry. I thank both of them for their hard work on this legislation.

We must look carefully and diligently at how digital asset markets are used, as they present unique challenges to regular retail investors.

Cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and other digital assets, including those utilizing blockchain and distributed ledger technology, are new technologies. How we regulate investment in them will be one of the most important questions in the financial services space.

If digital assets are used by retail investors, we must ensure these products provide adequate protections, disclosures, and notifications to make sure ordinary investors are not defrauded or have their household finances ruined due to excessive volatility.

This is especially important during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, with many people struggling financially and possibly drawn to risky investments or scams.

This bill would require the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to establish a working group on digital assets. The working group will investigate the legal and regulatory framework and best practices related to digital assets. The working group will report to Congress on its findings to help this body and the public better address these evolving markets.

I thank Representative Lynch and Representative McHenry for their thoughtful and bipartisan approach to this legislation, and I look forward to the work of the SEC and the CFTC on this important issue.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I know the gentleman will forgive me, but I listed a lot of people on the SAFE Banking Act that I want to thank. One person who I forgot, and I would be remiss, is Mr. Denny Heck, who is now Lieutenant Governor of Washington and who was also instrumental in putting that together.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source