Rep. Tom Emmer proposes to defund SEC’s crusade against crypto
Rep. Tom Emmer added a provision in the House GOP spending bill that would block the SEC from using government funds to pursue crypto companies until Congress weighs in on who has jurisdiction over crypto.
Pro-crypto Congressman Tom Emmer is advancing an amendment aimed at depriving the United States securities regulator from using government funds to go after crypto enforcement.
On Nov. 8, Emmer attached an amendment to HR 4664 — the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, or federal budget.
The amendment, which has passed unopposed, prohibits the Securities and Exchange Commission from using funds for enforcement activities related to digital asset transactions until Congress passes future legislation granting the agency jurisdiction to do so.
My amendment prohibits the SEC from using taxpayer-funded resources to pursue enforcement actions against the digital asset industry until Congress passes legislation that authorizes regulatory enforcement jurisdiction.
— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) November 8, 2023
While the amendment has advanced, the House’s budget where it’s included will need to still face a reconciliation committee before it’s passed.
In a Nov. 8 statement, Emmer suggested the Department of Justice, the Treasury and the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control can handle “future bad actors like FTX.”
“SEC Chair Gensler cannot continue to abuse the powers of his agency to fulfill a political agenda of driving the new and promising digital asset industry offshore.”
Republican lawmakers are trying to reduce funding across all federal agencies.
On Nov. 7, Representative Tim Burchett took a swing at Gensler and others by proposing an amendment that would reduce the SEC chairman’s salary to $1. Burchett also proposed cutting the salaries of other officials who have drawn the GOP’s ire.
House Republicans are set once again to crank up their "Holman Rule" machine, this time on Financial Services Approps/HR 4664 – to reduce to $1 the salaries of the SEC Chairman, the IRS Commissioner, the head of the WH Domestic Policy Council, and...