Will Biden Veto Pro-Crypto Legislation? Senator Lummis Responds

Though Congress may appear to have turned pro-crypto, the President may still present a key obstacle to passing key legislation for the industry, according to Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).

During a Friday interview, the congresswoman shared her perspective on how Capitol Hill’s views on crypto are evolving, and which parties remain opposed to pro-crypto legislation.

Biden’s Looming Veto Threat

Lummis spoke to the odds of H.J.Res. 109 being signed into effect by President Joe Biden, which passed through the House and Senate with bipartisan support earlier this month.

The resolution repeals a prior SEC rule that made it cumbersome and impractical for regulated banks to offer crypto custody services.

On one hand, Biden promised to veto the resolution if it reached his desk before the House of Representatives’s vote on the act two weeks ago. On the other, the bipartisan passage of the act through Congress and the Biden administration’s lighter tone on follow-up legislation had many assuming the president wouldn’t follow up on that threat.

According to Lummis, members of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned her that Biden would veto any attempt to strike down Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 well before Congress took formal action.

“I don’t think they anticipated how strong the bipartisan vote would be on this,” Lummis said. “Now the White House will have to reconsider, and I hope that they will not veto it.”

The Democrats Still Opposed To Crypto

Two other crypto-focused bills passed through the House this week, including the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) and the CBDC Anto Surveillance State Act. The former passed with a two-thirds majority vote – enough to override a veto attempt by the President if passed by the Senate with equal support.

“I think we’re starting to see that there is bipartisan support, and that it is probably a majority,” Lummis said. To the degree opponents still exist, they’re mostly members of the “progressive wing” of the Democratic party.

“There are people who are uncomfortable with assets that the government does not control,” Lummis continued. “That is an element of the Democrat party that may never adapt to an asset that can be used as a currency that was not created by government.”

Earlier this month, ex-Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan made a similar assessment of Democrats’ opposition to the industry. “Democrats and Communists control powerful states, so they don’t benefit from crypto,” he wrote to Twitter at the time.

Going forward, Lummis suggested that the crypto industry contact their congresspeople and educate them about digital assets.

“Don’t ignore the political opportunity that we have in 2024 to avail ourselves of a potential lasting framework and relationship between digital asset industries and the policymakers that are going toa affect this industry, whether it’s positive or negative,” she concluded.