[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S5606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6078. Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mr. Menendez) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. 
Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the 
bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1262. REPORTS ON ADOPTION OF CRYPTOCURRENCY AS LEGAL 
                   TENDER IN EL SALVADOR.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the 
     Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the heads of 
     other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall 
     jointly submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
     report on the adoption by the Government of El Salvador of a 
     cryptocurrency as legal tender.
       (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
     include the following:
       (1) A description of the process followed by the Government 
     of El Salvador to develop and enact the Bitcoin Law 
     (Legislative Decree No. 57, Official Record No. 110, Volume 
     431, enacted June 9, 2021), which provides the 
     cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, with legal tender status in El 
     Salvador.
       (2) An assessment of--
       (A) the regulatory framework in El Salvador with respect to 
     the adoption of a cryptocurrency as legal tender and the 
     technical capacity of El Salvador to ensure the financial 
     integrity and cybersecurity standards associated with 
     virtual-asset transactions;
       (B) whether the regulatory framework in El Salvador meets 
     the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force with 
     respect to virtual-asset transactions;
       (C) the impact on individuals and businesses of requiring 
     tender of Bitcoin; and
       (D) the impact of such adoption of a cryptocurrency on--
       (i) the macroeconomic stability and public finances of El 
     Salvador, including taxation;
       (ii) the rule of law and democratic governance in El 
     Salvador;
       (iii) the unbanked population in El Salvador;
       (iv) the flow of remittances from the United States to El 
     Salvador;
       (v) El Salvador's relations with multilateral financial 
     institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the 
     Word Bank;
       (vi) bilateral and international efforts to combat 
     transnational illicit activities;
       (vii) El Salvador's bilateral economic and commercial 
     relationship with the United States and the potential for 
     reduced use by El Salvador of the United States dollar;
       (viii) existing United States sanctions frameworks and the 
     potential for the use of cryptocurrency to affect such 
     sanctions;
       (ix) the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining 
     activities in El Salvador and the capacity of the electric 
     grid in El Salvador to deliver electricity meeting or 
     exceeding the level available before the adoption of a 
     cryptocurrency as legal tender; and
       (x) the feasibility of using cryptocurrency mining 
     activities for purposes of enhancing grid resiliency in El 
     Salvador.
       (3) A description of the internet infrastructure of El 
     Salvador and an assessment of--
       (A) the degree to which cryptocurrency is used in El 
     Salvador;
       (B) matters relating to chain of custody and the potential 
     for hacking and cybertheft of cryptocurrency; and
       (C) access to transparent and affordable internet and 
     digital infrastructure among the unbanked population of El 
     Salvador.
       (c) Plan To Mitigate Potential Significant Risks to United 
     States Financial System Posed by Adoption of Cryptocurrency 
     as Legal Tender in Certain Countries.--Not later than 90 days 
     after the submittal of the report required by subsection (a), 
     the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
     coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal 
     departments and agencies, shall jointly submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a plan to mitigate any 
     potential risk to the United States financial system posed by 
     the adoption of a cryptocurrency as legal tender in--
       (1) El Salvador; and
       (2) any other country that uses the United States dollar as 
     legal tender.
       (d) Subsequent Report.--Not later than 270 days after the 
     submittal of the report required by subsection (a), the 
     Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
     coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal 
     departments and agencies, shall jointly submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress an updated version of such 
     report, including a description of any significant 
     development related to the risks to the United States 
     financial system posed by the use of a cryptocurrency as 
     legal tender in El Salvador.
       (e) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means--
       (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
                                 ______