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House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15) delivered the following opening statement at today's markup of H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or the CLARITY Act:

Remarks as prepared: 

Good morning, everyone. Today, the Committee will consider H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or the CLARITY Act. 

At our first hearing on digital asset in 2018, Chairman Conaway said “How we regulate [digital assets] and those who develop them won’t determine if they are developed and used, but it will determine if they are developed and used in our country.” 

For the past eight years, this Committee along with our partners at the Financial Services Committee have worked tirelessly to build a regulatory framework that will ensure that digital assets are developed and used here, in the United States. 

Last Congress, we got closer than ever before. House Financial Services Chairman McHenry and I agreed to embark on a historic joint effort to work collaboratively and craft a comprehensive digital asset market structure framework. 

This year, we will complete that work and finally build a framework which will protect customers and promote innovation in digital asset markets. 

With Chairman French Hill leading the Financial Services Committee this Congress, we continued that partnership between the two Committees. 

It started with education and understanding how digital assets fit and do not fit into existing regulatory regimes. 

From our roundtables, briefings, and hearings, we learned that federal laws and regulations provide few rules of the road for those who want to engage with these emerging technologies, leading to complicated enforcement actions by regulators and creating further confusion in the industry and market. 

Through this process, we brought in a broad cross-section of stakeholders—from industry to regulators—to the table. 

Stakeholders underscored the importance of a regulatory framework. Without one, America will not lead, and innovation will be lost. We have already seen this over the last four years. 

Ultimately, we are left with one inescapable conclusion: congressional action is needed to bring these assets under federal oversight. Federal oversight will ensure that customers in every state are afforded the same comprehensive protections, and that Americans can innovate, develop, and build with digital assets, free from the fear of federal enforcement actions. 

I am thankful today that the President and his Administration has made digital assets and their associated benefits a primary policy focus. I appreciate all agencies which provided technical assistance. 

The CLARITY Act provides certainty on digital assets to market participants, fills regulatory gaps at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, bolsters American innovation, and brings needed customer protections to digital asset-related activities and intermediaries. 

I want to thank Chairmen Hill and Steil on Financial Services for their partnership and Chairman Dusty Johnson on our Committee for being a leader on this issue for years. 

I also want to thank the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, Ms. Craig, and Ranking Member Davis for working with us and being original cosponsors of this bill. I am so proud of this Committee leading by example with bipartisanship on this issue. 

Years of work by many people have brought us here to this point, to deliver for the American people. I look forward to doing just that and getting another step closer to digital asset market structure with today’s mark-up. 

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