[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 123 (Thursday, July 17, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H3470]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AFL-CIO SCORING CRYPTO BILLS
(Mr. SHERMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, today is the so-called culmination of
crypto week.
The AFL-CIO has sent a letter to every Member, saying that these
bills are an attack on working families and that they will score your
vote on these issues, and to vote ``no'' on both bills.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record the
ALF-CIO correspondence.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
AFL-CIO Scoring Crypto Bills
Dear Legislative Directors: I've received several queries
about whether the AFL-CIO is scoring the votes on the GENIUS
Act and CLARITY Act, which we oppose (see the attached
Legislative Alert). The answer is yes, we are scoring these
votes. When we send a House-wide or Senate-wide Legislative
Alert urging a particular vote is scored.
To reiterate, our concern about these bills is that they
shield crypto from proper oversight and regulation. We know
from experience that a failure to oversee or properly
regulate financial instruments or securities puts workers'
and retirees' pensions and 401k plans at risk and can
destabilize the economy and threaten jobs. These bills are
flashing red danger lights. We urge Members to vote no on
these bills. Thank you!
Jody Calemine,
Director of Advocacy, AFL-CIO
____
AFL-CIO,
Legislative Alert,
July 16, 2025.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I am writing
to urge you to oppose two bills on crypto currency that may
soon be up on the House floor for a vote this week. The
GENIUS Act, (S. 1582) and the CLARITY Act (HR 3633) pose
risks to both retirement funds and to the overall financial
stability of the U.S. economy. Instead of regulating crypto
currency, these bills will enable the crypto industry to
operate without effective oversight, and this will endanger
the financial health of working people.
Poorly Regulated Crypto Assests Are Dangerous to Pensions
Unions strongly support workers having retirement benefits
and regularly negotiate for pension plans in employment
contracts. But retirement plans are only solvent if their
assets are protected from fraud and unethical practices.
Neither of these bills provide a regulatory structure for
crypto assets or stablecoin that is similar to that of other
assets in pensions. While currently most pensions do not
carry crypto assets because of the risks associated with
them, the bills provide the facade of regulation that may
make these assets more mainstream in portfolios. Passing this
legislation will allow the proliferation of assets that
investors will wrongly perceive as safe.
But the problem with these bills is more significant than
they do not provide strong regulations for pensions; if they
are passed they will reduce the safety of many assets and
create problems across retirement investments. We are
particularly concerned that a loophole in the CLARITY Act (HR
3633) would allow non-crypto companies to put their stock on
the blockchain and evade the entire securities regulatory
framework that currently exists. This would reduce reporting
requirements, disclosures and other obligations. These
changes would put pensions and 401k plans in jeopardy of
having unsafe assets even if they were invested in
traditional securities.
Because we believe in strong, safe pensions that are there
for workers in their retirement, we oppose these bills and
ask that you do the same.
Financial Instability Would Increase
The AFL-CIO has always supported measures that properly
regulate financial markets so that working people are not
cheated of their hard earned wages. In the aftermath of the
2008 financial crisis which had its genesis in unregulated
derivatives markets and widespread fraudulent banking
activities, we supported legislation that created the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and strengthened
financial regulations through the Dodd-Frank Act.
The GENIUS and CLARITY Acts do not protect consumers,
workers or the financial system and instead they expose all
to more risk. The GENIUS Act would allow tech companies to
become de facto banks or issuers of a corporate currency,
without requiring them to adhere to equivalent bank
regulatory oversight. Stablecoins are not inherently stable
and the assets that are permitted to back the value of
stablecoins in the bill are not sufficiently strong. Thus, a
situation similar to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank
(SVB), which was brought about by the failure of the
stablecoin peg, looms large. The bills also do little to curb
the fraud, illegal activity and corruption that continues to
be prevalent in anonymous crypto markets. As such, these
bills provide the perfect environment for the next financial
crisis to germinate.
Oppose These Bills
For all the reasons above and more, the AFL-CIO strongly
urges you to vote no on the GENIUS Act, (S. 1582) and no on
the CLARITY Act (HR 3633). Working people need policies that
effectively regulate financial markets and ensure that hard
earned retirement benefits are not endangered by risky
assets. We need to make sure that the financial system is
stable instead of creating a casino for crypto billionaires
to make more profits.
Sincerely,
Jody Calemine,
Director, Government Affairs.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this shows what Trump had to say about
crypto before he learned he could make money from it.
The bills we have allow the President and the Vice President to
sponsor crypto. It means they can print their electronic monopoly
money. China is buying $300 million, and Abu Dhabi has agreed to buy $2
billion of Trump coin or Trump stablecoin.
It allows for bailouts by the Fed. Jerome Powell won't bail out Trump
coin, but the next Fed Chair will.
It allows for the purchase with your U.S. tax dollars of Bitcoin or
Trump coin.
The third bill says that innovation is wonderful except if the U.S.
Government does it.
Vote ``no'' on all three bills.
____________________