Lummis Confirms CLARITY Act Senate Vote Next Week Before Recess

Senator Cynthia Lummis has reiterated her plan to have the U.S. Senate take up the CLARITY Act before adjournment for the August recess. Senate leadership is still planning to get the crypto market structure bill to the floor, despite a packed legislative calendar, Lummis told crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett.

Lummis responded in the affirmative to a question of whether the Senate was still seeking a vote before recess. She said that the lawmakers have "one more week here in Washington" and a lot of key things vying for floor time.

The Senate is also going through "multiple nominations," a continuing resolution discussion and votes on "Iran and Ukraine-slash-Russia sanctions," Lummis said. She noted, however, that Senate Majority Leader John Thune has still been able to set aside time for the bill.

According to Lummis, "Senator Thune has kept a place for the Clarity Act on the agenda before the August recess for many, many weeks now." She added, "I believe he does intend to go through with it."

The Wyoming senator said the timing is still to be determined. "We will be proceeding, and I can't tell you whether it's going to be tomorrow, or Monday, or Tuesday," she said. This means that the vote may be set for the next few days.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent upped the ante on the Senate in a post on X. He said that the bill should be voted on by lawmakers "NOW," citing the CLARITY Act. Some Senate Democrats were opposed to advancing the bill due to concerns from Senator Elizabeth Warren and the "anti-crypto army" she promised to assemble, Bessent added.

So, Senate Majority Leader John Thune will be putting his skills to the test in the coming days to get the bill passed, Bessent said. He wondered if "American Exceptionalism" or "cede American leadership of a global industry" would be acceptable to Democrats.

The Treasury Secretary also said that the U.S. could be left behind in the global race for digital assets. He also quoted Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, saying: "If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry."

The bill is still under negotiation. Sticking points include the ethics and the BRCA provisions. With this, Democrats who were opposed to any language that would leave enforcement power in the hands of Justice Department, instead of the state prosecutors, got their wish. Republican Senator Thom Tillis has already introduced a bipartisan ethics bill to the White House for consideration.