Scott Calls Out Democrats for Putting Politics Ahead of Historic Digital Assets Legislation
Washington, D.C. – Today, after Senate Democrats voted against a procedural step to begin consideration of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) spoke on the Senate floor and called out Democrats for playing politics with bipartisan legislation. The GENIUS Act, a bill to establish the first ever regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, was the result of months of bipartisan negotiations and extensive consultation with industry participants, academic experts, and government stakeholders. After considering dozens of amendments to the bill, Chairman Scott successfully advanced the legislation out of the Banking Committee in March with every Republican and five Democrats supporting it.
Click here or on the image above to watch Chairman Scott’s remarks.
Chairman Scott’s remarks as delivered:
Mr. President, today should have been, it should have been a historic day for Americans, a historic day for working-class Americans, blue-collar Americans, to see their financial system democratized.
Well, what does that mean, Mr. President?
What it means, Mr. President, is a day where single mothers, like the one that raised me, the day becomes a little cheaper. Things become a little more affordable.
Why, Mr. President? Because we were on the verge of doing something that would have made our markets safer and cheaper for everyday working Americans across this remarkable land.
But instead, we witnessed a disappointing display of political gamesmanship that puts partisan politics above policy, and obstruction above innovation.
We could have come together as Republicans and Democrats, not in a bipartisan way, but in an American way, to deliver real change for the American people, real change embedded in the passing of the GENIUS Act.
But not this day.
I know that this day was supposed to be special.
It was supposed to be the day that America as a nation would rise to the occasion of innovation over regulation.
It was supposed to be the day where we would come together in a non-partisan way, Republicans working with Democrats to make this nation work better for that blue-collar comeback.
It was supposed to be that day.
But not this day.
I know what those on the other side would say. Let's be brutally honest about it, though.
The GENIUS Act was a bipartisan achievement at the Banking Committee. It was a bipartisan achievement because we took the time – hours upon hours – you were there, Mr. President. We debated day in and day out for weeks and months before we ever had the hearing.
We offered almost 80 amendments during this session at the Banking Committee. We voted on 40 amendments in the Banking Committee.
We made the decision to make America's economy safer and cheaper for the American people.
But when the lights came on and the cameras were watching, what did we see?
We saw those same Democratic colleagues who recognized the urgent need to bring stablecoins into a clear, responsible regulatory framework, we watched them take a step back and vote against the very bill they voted for. The bill they shaped.
What changed? What changed? What changed, Mr. President? Not the substance. They got more of what they wanted in the last five iterations of the legislation.
What changed, Mr. President, was politics, not policy, not the legislation, not the substance – politics.
Let's be honest.
What we saw today wasn't a vote against the legislation, several iterations, your staff, my staff, and Democrat staff spent thousands of hours working on improving the bill…up until 2:00am last night, staff getting phone calls from Democrats about what they needed for the bill to pass.
It was a vote against President Trump and President Trump's legislative agenda. It was a vote to stop President Trump from having a victory in the digital asset space. It was a vote against commonsense - that simple. Trump Derangement Syndrome has once again hijacked responsible governance in this chamber.
But unfortunately, unfortunately, it's the American people, they are the ones who lose. It's blue-collar, red-blooded Americans who pay the ultimate price of inaction in this chamber, brought about because of politics, not policy. And it frustrates me.
It frustrates me to sit through hours of meetings. It frustrates me to watch people look me in my eyes and tell me we're almost there. I just need one more thing. It frustrates me when my colleagues seem so sincere that they want the revolution of innovation to happen in America. It frustrates me to watch them turn their back on the very people they say they represent.
And it frustrates me, Mr. President. It frustrates me that the modern financial tools that makes our economy not just faster, but safer. Safer because the blockchain technology makes it safer and more inclusive. Entrepreneurs and developers want clarity so they can build here in the United States of America, not be pushed offshore into a regulatory environment that is confusing.
Let me close with this, Mr. President.
The bill delivered on exactly what we all want: safety, consumer protections, AML, BSA, all the things that you would want, that I would want, that they would want. We did it. we did it together.
But there’s something putrid.
It's hard to understand how my good friends walked away from our priorities. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle decided to chicken out on safety, on inclusion, and on democratization.
When the cameras were rolling, the stakes were high, we were left high and dry. Not because of the policy, but because the political landscape dictated, demanded, that they deny average American access. This is exactly the kind of cynical Washington maneuvering that makes people sick to their stomach.
But Mr. President, I am proud of the work that we have done. I am frankly proud of the work that my Democrat colleagues in the committee offered to make the bill better. I'm proud of the fact that for a couple of hours in America's capital, we put partisanship to the side. We decided we would just do the right thing.
I’m proud that the Republican Party stood up and stood firm on innovation, stood strong on consumer protection, and we were there for national security.
I'm not finished fighting, Mr. President. I am frustrated, but we are not defeated. We are simply delayed. We are not finished fighting. We will continue to work on the digital asset revolution that the American people voted for; they deserve. The need hasn't disappeared, neither has our commitment to American leadership in the digital asset space. To those who chose politics over progress today, the American people are watching.
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