Senate Banking Committee Eyes 100+ CLARITY Amendments

Senate Banking Committee members filed more than 100 amendments to the updated 309-page CLARITY Act, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren submitting more than 40 proposals ahead of a markup scheduled for Thursday morning in Washington.

The filings follow the committee’s release Tuesday of a revised 309-page draft, up from 278 pages in January. The markup vote will determine whether the updated CLARITY Act advances from the committee to the full Senate.

Democrats on the committee filed many of the new amendments, while Republican sponsors offered a smaller set of revisions. Warren’s proposals focus on increased oversight of digital-asset firms; one would block the Federal Reserve from granting master accounts to cryptocurrency companies.

An amendment from Sen. Jack Reed would ‘prohibit crypto from being used as legal tender, for example, to pay taxes.’ Senators Reed and Tina Smith also filed an amendment that would incorporate banks’ proposed limits on stablecoin yield offerings, creating a choice between the bill’s crypto provisions and bank-backed changes.

Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks negotiated a compromise on stablecoin yields that has prompted lobbying from the banking sector. The American Bankers Association sent more than 8,000 letters to Senate offices urging support for the version of the bill that includes the banks’ stablecoin yield language.

Committee members filed 137 amendments before a planned markup in January. The current filings address stablecoin policy, access to banking services for crypto firms, and how regulatory authority would be divided among federal agencies.

The committee vote on Thursday will decide whether the updated CLARITY Act moves to the full Senate, where senators could offer further amendments.