Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) delivered the following opening statement at a full committee hearing titled “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: From Blueprint to a Functional Framework.” Watch the full hearing here.

[As prepared for delivery.]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to thank the witnesses for coming to Capitol Hill to share their perspectives with us.  

The CLARITY Act is not a perfect bill. And there are improvements that I hope can still be made. However, I was pleased to join with the Chairman and others on this Committee to put forth the legislation because, at the end of the day, we need to bring consumer protection and a market structure to digital assets in our financial system. 

Digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, are no longer a novel financial product. They have become and will continue to be integrated with and, in some instances, completely change our financial architecture. I believe it is critical that Congress establish clear protections for consumers and retail investors as well as rules of the road for businesses dealing in digital assets.  

There are common sense regulations that the industry currently lacks, like requiring the sequestration of consumer funds for broker exchanges. Ensuring consumer deposits are not misused, and that retail investors are not left holding the bag when bad actors commit fraud. I hope these are all things we can agree on. 

If Congress does its job well with this legislation, we will hear more stories of innovation and success. Legitimate enterprises will innovate and thrive, and consumers will be able to engage with their services and products without undue financial risk. 

This technology and these markets are growing rapidly, and Americans are engaging at a rapid pace. We have a responsibility to be part of the solution and to protect them. 

But I do want to add that we cannot ignore the fact that the President of the United States is making this debate more difficult. 

Under current law, Members of Congress, judges, their respective staffs and other federal employees may not use non-public information to trade in markets overseen by the CFTC or share non-public information with others so they can trade. This bill rightly adds digital commodities to those prohibitions. 

Yet, these limits, which apply to us, do not apply to the President. 

Our work here is critical to getting this right for retail investors. And I’m glad we are here today. 

I want to again thank the Chairman for holding this hearing and for working with us to help improve the CLARITY Act. I hope we can build upon this success as the bill moves through the legislative process. 

Thank you again to our witnesses, and I yield back.