Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) warns that President Biden may veto crucial legislation despite Congress's pro-crypto stance. During a May 24 interview, she highlighted the bipartisan support and the resistance from certain political factions.

Senator Lummis Highlights Shifting Capitol Hill Crypto Stance and Biden's Potential Veto of H.J.Res. 109

During a May 24 interview, Lummis discussed how Capitol Hill's stance on cryptocurrency is shifting and which parties remain resistant to pro-crypto legislation.

According to CryptoPotato, Lummis examined the odds of President Joe Biden signing H.J.Res. 109 after passing through the House and Senate with bipartisan backing earlier this month.

The resolution repeals a previous SEC rule that made it difficult and impractical for regulated banks to provide cryptocurrency custody services.

Biden had previously threatened to veto the resolution if it reached his desk before the House of Representatives voted on it two weeks ago. However, the act's bipartisan passage through Congress and the Biden administration's softer stance on follow-up legislation led many to believe the President would not follow his promise. According to Lummis, SEC members warned her that Biden would veto any attempt to overturn Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 long before Congress took action.

"I don't think they anticipated how strong the bipartisan vote would be on this," Lummis said. "Now the White House will have to reconsider, and I hope that they will not veto it."

House Passes Two Major Crypto Laws with Bipartisan Support, Faces Potential Veto from Biden

This week, two more crypto-related laws passed the House: the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) and the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act. The former passed by a two-thirds majority vote, which would be enough to override a presidential veto if enacted by the Senate with equal support.

"I think we're starting to see that there is bipartisan support and that it is probably a majority," Lummis said. To the degree opponents still exist, they're primarily members of the "progressive wing" of the Democratic party.

"There are people who are uncomfortable with assets that the government does not control," Lummis continued. "That is an element of the Democrat party that may never adapt to an asset that can be used as a currency that was not created by government."

Earlier last month, former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan expressed a similar view of Democrats' resistance to the business. "Democrats and Communists control powerful states, so they don't benefit from crypto," he remarked on Twitter at the time.

Lummis proposed that the crypto industry contact their congressional representatives and educate them on digital assets.

"Don't ignore the political opportunity that we have in 2024 to avail ourselves of a potential lasting framework and the relationship between digital asset industries and the policymakers that are going to affect this industry, whether it's positive or negative," she concluded.

Photo: The White House, CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons