CLARITY Act Vote Set For Tuesday As Senate Democrats Push Counteroffer

TLDR

• Senate Democrats sent Republicans a counteroffer on the CLARITY Act hours before Tuesday’s cloture vote.
• The Senate vote is set for 2:15 p.m. ET and needs 60 votes to move forward.
• Republicans say their new 635-page draft includes 126 changes requested by Democrats.
• Ethics rules for federal officials remain a sticking point despite new enforcement powers for state attorneys general.
• Banking groups and state attorneys general are pushing for separate changes on stablecoin rewards and state enforcement authority.

Senate Democrats delivered a counteroffer on the CLARITY Act to Republican negotiators late Monday. This came just hours before a scheduled procedural vote on Tuesday, September 15.

The full text of the Democratic proposal had not been made public as of early Tuesday. That means the exact changes Democrats are asking for remain unclear.

Sen. Mark Warner said before the offer went out that Democrats involved in the talks were working on a new proposal. Ethics restrictions for federal officials were still being discussed at that point.

What The Revised Bill Includes

Republicans released an updated draft of the CLARITY Act ahead of the vote. Negotiators say the new version includes 126 substantive changes requested by Democrats over months of talks.

The updated text changes rules on government officials’ crypto holdings. It also touches stablecoin rewards and protections for blockchain software developers.

President Trump agreed to revised ethics language that would apply to the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges and some family members. The rules would place conditions on those officials’ digital asset holdings.

The new language also gives state attorneys general the power to bring certain civil enforcement actions tied to the ethics rules. Some Democratic senators still say the changes do not go far enough.

One part of the plan would require covered officials to handle certain crypto holdings through steps like divestment or a qualified blind trust. How this would work in practice is still being negotiated.

Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis, Tim Scott and John Boozman have led talks on the GOP side. White House adviser Patrick Witt said Monday that the administration believes Republicans have addressed most Democratic concerns, describing any remaining changes as close to “punctuation.”

Banks And State Officials Raise Separate Concerns

Stablecoin rewards remain a separate dispute. The bill would let the Treasury secretary decide if stablecoin reward practices are pulling deposits away from community banks.

Treasury would get 18 months after the bill becomes law to study the issue. If harm is found, regulators would then be told to add restrictions.

The American Bankers Association says this timeline is too slow. The group argues deposits could already be gone by the time any action is taken.

Nearly 80 state banking associations joined national banking groups in asking senators for stronger stablecoin language before the vote. They sent a letter on this topic on September 10.

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a group of 17 other attorneys general asking Congress to protect state authority over crypto fraud and securities cases. They want states to keep registration and enforcement powers.

Their request is separate from the ethics enforcement powers being given to attorneys general under the revised bill. Both issues involve state officials but cover different parts of the legislation.

The Senate cloture vote is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday. It needs 60 votes to pass, meaning Democratic or independent support is required since Republicans hold 53 seats.

A successful vote would not pass the bill. It would only allow the Senate to begin formal debate and consider amendments before any final vote.

The post CLARITY Act Vote Set For Tuesday As Senate Democrats Push Counteroffer appeared first on Blockonomi.