As
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives
weighs
legislation
on
next
year’s
spending,
a
provision
was
added
on
Wednesday
that
would
deprive
funding
from
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
enforcement
actions
against
crypto
businesses.
The
move
–
authored
by
Majority
Whip
Tom
Emmer
(R-Minn.),
one
of
the
industry’s
closest
allies
on
Capitol
Hill
–
was
targeted
at
SEC
Chair
Gary
Gensler,
who
Emmer
criticized
Wednesday
as
trying
to
steer
the
crypto
industry
with
enforcement
actions
rather
than
policy.
The
House
appropriations
bill
–
known
as
Financial
Services
and
General
Government
Appropriations
Act
of
2024
–
was
revised
by
several
amendments
on
Wednesday,
including
this
one
from
Emmer.
It
was
among
more
than
100
amendments
proposed
for
the
bill,
and
members
approved
it
in
a
voice
vote.
“My
amendment
prohibits
the
SEC
from
using
funds
for
enforcement
activities
related
to
digital
asset
transactions
until
Congress
passes
legislation
that
gives
the
SEC
jurisdiction
over
this
asset
class,”
said
Emmer,
who
was
briefly
considered
by
his
colleagues
recently
for
the
House
speaker
role,
in
his
floor
statement
on
the
amendment.
“This
will
keep
Chair
Gensler
–
who
has
proven
himself
to
be
ineffective
and
incompetent
–
in
check
while
Congress
continues
working
to
give
this
industry
a
chance
to
grow
and
develop
right
here
in
the
United
States.”
Of
course,
any
House
appropriations
package
must
also
be
backed
by
the
Senate,
which
is
controlled
by
Democrats
more
closely
aligned
with
Gensler.
Senate
Banking
Committee
Chairman
Sherrod
Brown
(D-Ohio)
and
some
others
actively
cheer
Gensler’s
use
of
enforcement
actions
against
crypto
firms.
“Now
the
Senate
must
continue
working
towards
a
common
sense,
bipartisan
solution
that
allows
blockchain
technology
to
thrive
while
protecting
American
consumers
and
investors,”
said
former
Reps.
David
McIntosh
and
Tim
Ryan,
who
are
co-chairs
of
the
Blockchain
Innovation
Project
and
said
they
aided
in
Emmer’s
amendment.
The
Congress
is
currently
heading
toward
another
budget
impasse
when
the
government’s
current,
temporary
funding
is
depleted
by
Nov.
17.
While
a
short-term
solution
was
agreed
to
previously,
then-Speaker
of
the
House
Kevin
McCarthy
(R-Calif.)
was
fired
by
his
GOP
colleagues
and
replaced
with
a
new
speaker,
Rep.
Mike
Johnson
(F-La.),
who
voted
against
that
budget
extension.
Gensler
said
Wednesday
that
his
agency
has
pursued
as
many
as
150
actions
against
crypto
firms.
“I’m
really
proud
of
that,”
he
said
at
the
DC
Fintech
Week
event
in
Washington.