Three House Democrats are urging their divided caucus to support a GOP-led cryptocurrency bill on the floor this week.
Democratic Reps. Don Davis of North Carolina, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Ritchie Torres of New York sent a letter, obtained by POLITICO, to their Democratic colleagues Monday pressing them to vote for the legislation despite its “shortcomings.”
The trio warn in the new letter that the U.S. cannot “lag behind” on cryptocurrency development and “maintaining the status quo only heightens risk, weakens U.S. leadership, and allows bad actors to operate unchecked.”
The Democrats added, “Although this bill is not without its shortcomings and may still be improved, inaction is not a viable option.”
The House is set to vote this week on two cryptocurrency bills that are splitting Democrats, with House Democratic leaders not expected to whip for or against them. Davis, Gottheimer and Torres were writing Monday in support of Financial Services Chair French Hill’s market structure measure, known as the CLARITY Act.
They argued that this bill would “protect consumers and investors, foster responsible innovation, and bring much-needed legal certainty to digital asset markets, an area increasingly vital to the U.S. economy and global financial system.”
Davis, a vulnerable House Democrat, is the top Democrat on the Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development. Gottheimer and Torres sit on the Financial Services Committee.
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