00:00Mr. President, this evening, we're going to once again vote to begin consideration of the Genius Act.
00:07And I'm hoping that the second time will be the charm.
00:11We were here 11 days ago, Mr. President, in the same place when Democrats inexplicably chose to block this legislation.
00:22The question is why.
00:24Well, that's a good question, Mr. President.
00:26Stable coin regulation is a bipartisan issue.
00:30This bill reflects the bipartisan consensus on this issue.
00:34And it's had an open and bipartisan process since the very beginning.
00:40What we used to round here to call regular order.
00:44In March, the Banking Committee marked up the bill text, considering 40 amendments.
00:48And the bill ultimately passed out of the committee by a vote of 18 to 6 with support from five Democrats.
00:54And since then, both Republicans and Democrat members have worked to advance this legislation.
01:00That is, until a week and a half ago when Democrats suddenly decided to block it just as we were getting ready to have a debate on the floor.
01:09Mr. President, the bill brought up a week and a half ago is the exact same bill the Democrats apparently now are willing to move forward on.
01:21And then, as now, Republicans were committed to a full debate on the floor with a chance for further bipartisan amendments to the already bipartisan piece of legislation.
01:33So, it's really hard to understand why we needed to wait an additional 11 days for Democrats to finally agree to move.
01:41I'm not sure if Democrats wanted to deny Republicans and President Trump a bipartisan legislative victory and then perhaps thought better of their obstruction or what.
01:54But at least, at least we finally seem to be here, Mr. President, ready to take up this bill.
02:01Because this is important legislation.
02:04The use of cryptocurrency has exploded from the margins to the mainstream.
02:07And stablecoins have emerged as a key part of the crypto ecosystem.
02:12They offer the speed and security of the blockchain with the stability and usability of the dollar bill.
02:20And they provide a business- and consumer-friendly way to make payments.
02:26But stablecoin issuers and users face challenges.
02:30In the United States, stablecoins have operated in a legal gray zone.
02:35There are no clear rules of the road to follow.
02:39And between that and the Biden administration's targeting crypto companies with numerous lawsuits,
02:44many U.S.-based crypto companies have contemplated moving overseas.
02:48Not something we want to see if we want the United States to remain at the forefront of financial innovation.
02:56Fortunately, the Genius Act addresses these problems by providing a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins.
03:02A framework that will protect consumers and our national security while helping to keep the United States at the forefront of financial innovation.
03:12The bill will also create demand for the U.S. dollar and U.S. treasuries.
03:16A good thing for both our national security and our fiscal house.
03:20So this is an important bill, Mr. President.
03:23And I'm glad that it looks like we are finally going to be able to take it up.
03:27And I hope that in the future, we will be able to take up bipartisan legislation without these unnecessary delays.
03:35I want to again thank my colleagues from both parties for their work on this bill.
03:40Senators Hagerty, Lummis, and Tim Scott have worked tirelessly with Senators Gillibrand and also Brooks and their members.
03:49And they all deserve a ton of credit for listening to their respective sides of the aisle.
03:54So, Mr. President, I look forward to beginning the floor debate later today.
