The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has long been sold to the American public as a necessary watchdog against financial abuse. Its defenders argue that without it, consumers would be left at the mercy of powerful financial institutions. But they are ignoring the fact that consumer protection laws existed long before the CFPB was established. The idea that the CFPB is the last and best line of defense against corporate overreach is misleading. Federal agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Cur... Read More »
By Chairman French Hill and Chairman G.T. Thompson In 2008, an anonymous person or group of people known only as “Satoshi Nakamoto” released a now-seminal document, the Bitcoin White paper, introducing a peer-to-peer system for value of exchange without intermediaries. With this revolutionary concept, the idea of a “digital asset” was born. Soon after, developers and entrepreneurs expanded on this concept, developing systems where value was exchanged not just for its own sake, but for services and digital products. Over the past decade, innovators have built permissionless, decentralized netwo... Read More »
Digital assets have rapidly evolved and are quickly becoming cornerstones of the global economy. Today, approximately 65 million Americans own some form of cryptocurrency, including stablecoins. These assets change how consumers and institutions transact, invest and store value. The rise of decentralized finance platforms, blockchain technology and digital tokens has democratized the internet and sparked a financial revolution that is here to stay. However, as with any rapidly emerging industry, Congress must provide clear regulatory guidelines to ensure that digital assets remain secure, stab... Read More »
Last November, the American people clearly spoke. They support President Trump and the agenda he campaigned on: A “Golden Age” in America. A key component of President Trump’s agenda is leveraging the U.S.’s leadership in advanced technology and economic strength for the benefit of all Americans. Nowhere is this renewed focus on using our strengths for the future more necessary than in the development of digital assets and blockchain operations, where Washington has been asleep at the wheel for far too long. According to surveys, 55% of American investors own Bitcoin, and more than 40 million ... Read More »
January 8, 2024 | By Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) Congress has been inundated with calls to create an expansive anti-money laundering framework to address the over-exaggerated (and often mischaracterized) presence of illicit finance in the digital asset ecosystem. It’s time we had a serious discussion on what these proposals entail and why they are misguided. First, much of this debate has been reinvigorated by Hamas’ unprovoked, barbaric terrorist attack against Israel. The media then incorrectly reported that the terrorist group raised upwards of $93 million via digital assets prior to the... Read More »
By Lauren Feiner, CNBC A new draft bill lays the groundwork for how House Republicans will tackle financial data privacy if they win back the majority in the chamber this November. The discussion draft would modernize a financial data protection law known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. It could end up applying to companies like Intuit-owned Mint and Plaid by including data aggregators in the law. A new draft bill from House Financial Services Ranking Member Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., lays the groundwork for how the GOP will tackle financial data privacy if the party wins back the majority in the... Read More »
By Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer and Rep. Bill Huizenga This summer, regulators in China blocked Didi Chuxing, the country’s largest ride-hailing service, from signing up new customers through its app after Chinese regulators claimed the company was lax in protecting users’ personal data. This move followed Beijing’s eleventh-hour intervention last November to prevent Ant Group’s $35 billion IPO after Ant founder Jack Ma’s speech criticizing Chinese banks. More recently, the potential default of one of China’s leading real estate developers, Evergrande Group, due to reckless actions and overexpansio... Read More »
By Rep. French Hill and Rep. Tom Emmer The World Health Organization’s (WHO) ineptitude in the early days of COVID-19 shed light on China’s growing influence over international institutions. The decline of the WHO should serve as a warning as China seeks to expand its malign reach, particularly in economic governance at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the G20. These are the organizations that shape the world’s financial architecture, providing countries with lifelines during crises, setting conditions when they borrow, and monitoring the overall health of the global ... Read More »
By Rep. Andy Barr and Rep. Ann Wagner Leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are engaged in an organized, coordinated effort to usurp the United States as the world’s preeminent economic, military and technological power. Defending against these advances is one of the most significant geopolitical challenges in a generation. However, we cannot beat China by becoming like China. Strategies to counter China’s global dominance are only effective if they focus on America’s strengths and leverage America’s economic might to counter malign Chinese activities. A case in point is U.S. leadership... Read More »
By Rep. Patrick McHenry As the Biden administration’s inept evacuation from Afghanistan unfolded in August, the president sought to change the subject by saying that an exit would help Americans focus on a more serious threat: China. But with its Afghan policy so disastrously executed, the administration’s message sounded as if someone struggling to master checkers had announced he’d be entering the World Chess Championship. Heart-wrenching scenes from Kabul have shown how Washington must get its act together if it wants to outcompete China, and that means restoring the world’s trust through a... Read More »
