[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 18, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S3465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               GENIUS ACT

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, yesterday I voted against final 
passage of the GENIUS Act. I think the majority of my colleagues agree 
that we need sensible regulation of cryptocurrency and stablecoins to 
protect consumers, safeguard our financial system, and close down their 
use in illicit finance of criminal activities that jeopardize our 
security. But this bill missed the mark and was pushed through without 
the opportunity to vote on several amendments that would have 
strengthened it.
  Stablecoins have been called ``the new kingpin of illicit activity'' 
as a tool of money laundering, payment in ransomware attacks, and 
financing for criminal and terrorist activity. The bill purports to 
bring stablecoins into the Anti-Money Laundering regulatory regime, but 
does not adequately enforce those requirements at a time when the Trump 
administration is rapidly dismantling crypto investigation and 
enforcement units at the Department of Justice and SEC. It fails to 
address crypto ``mixers,'' which make it more difficult to trace 
illicit transactions; instead, it calls for further study of the issue. 
And it includes a loophole to allow Tether, a foreign stablecoin issuer 
that has been used to help Russians evade U.S. sanctions, to have 
access to U.S. markets. Several Senators put forward amendments to 
address these national security risks, including Senator Peters, who 
offered a change that would create a system for tracing stablecoin 
transactions that is similar to the way we track other financial 
transactions. The majority leader did not allow consideration of any of 
these amendments.
  The GENIUS Act fails to adequately protect consumers or our financial 
system, allowing risky assets to provide the required 1:1 peg for 
stablecoins, limiting the number of issuers subject to financial audit, 
and failing to give the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau clear 
authority to offer the same protections from fraud a consumer has when 
using a bank account. There were amendments to fix these issues; they 
did not get a vote.
  But perhaps most egregiously, this GENIUS Act does nothing to 
constrain President Trump's rampant crypto corruption. It does not 
address the meme coin the President marketed in exchange for access to 
an exclusive dinner. And it doesn't address the President's family 
stablecoin, which has already been used by a state-owned Emirati 
company to execute a $2 billion transaction. It is clear that anyone 
who invests enough in the President's crypto schemes--including foreign 
governments--will have access to the highest levels of our government. 
Senator Merkley offered an amendment to ensure that no government 
official--not the President, not Members of Congress--can issue 
stablecoins or other cryptocurrencies. The majority leader blocked its 
consideration.
  We have experienced the dangers that weak regulatory structures have 
posed to consumers, investors, and our financial system. We have paid 
to bail out industry after those systems have failed. We had an 
opportunity to strengthen the GENIUS Act, build safeguards around a 
growing sector, and stamp out its use in corrupt and criminal 
activities. Instead, we barreled forward without even a vote on those 
amendments. Because we could not make those critical improvements, I 
voted against the bill.

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