Press Releases

Today, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence led by Subcommittee Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) is holding a hearing to examine how agencies are addressing emerging technologies and to explore how Congress can support responsible innovation while ensuring strong oversight and accountability.

Read Subcommittee Chairman Steil’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery:

"We meet at a moment when the pace of technological change is not just accelerating, it is redefining the very foundations of our financial system. Innovation in areas like artificial intelligence, digital assets, and real time payments is reshaping how Americans save, invest, and transact. 

"The question before us is not whether this transformation will continue. It will. The real question is whether our regulatory framework is prepared to meet it. Regulators must evolve as quickly as the technologies they oversee. A static approach to supervision in a dynamic environment is a recipe for failure. 

"Agencies need the tools, expertise, and flexibility to understand emerging risks without stifling the innovation that drives economic growth. That means embracing new supervisory technologies, investing in talent, and engaging directly with innovators, not as adversaries, but as partners in building a safer and more resilient system.

"At the same time, we must be clear that fostering innovation is not optional. It is essential to maintaining the United States’ global leadership. If we fail to create an environment where financial institutions and entrepreneurs can responsibly innovate, that innovation will move elsewhere. With it will go jobs, investment, and influence over the standards that will govern the future of finance. 

"We should want the next generation of financial technologies to be developed here, grounded in transparency, accountability, and the rule of law. Regulators cannot, and should not, navigate this moment alone. Congress has a critical role to play. 

"We must provide clear direction to ensure that agencies approach innovation in a consistent, accountable, and transparent manner. Fragmentation and uncertainty serve no one. Through thoughtful oversight and, where necessary, legislative action, we can establish guardrails that both encourage innovation and protect customers. Our responsibility is to strike that balance. 

"If we get this right, we will not only keep pace with change, but we will also secure America’s leadership in the financial system.

"I want to thank our witnesses for being with us here today and I look forward to today’s discussion."

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