Original title: Andy Barr's 'Vision' for House Financial Services

Original author: Nikhilesh De

Original source: https://www.coindesk.com/

Compiled by: Mars Finance, Daisy

Andy Barr's Vision to Run for Chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee

The lawmaker from Kentucky is running to succeed cryptocurrency supporter Patrick McHenry as chairman of the powerful Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr (R-Ky.) is one of the candidates running to succeed Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, the Republican section of which oversees agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is responsible for shepherding legislation that could affect areas such as U.S. capital markets and banking. At the Flyover Fintech conference on Monday, he shared some thoughts on his cryptocurrency priorities.

PS: I’ll be in Washington, DC this week, part of Wednesday, all of Thursday (for the DC Privacy Summit), and part of Friday. If you’re there, let’s meet up.

“Drawing a vision”

background

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is retiring at the end of this Congress, and a number of lawmakers are vying to take over his leadership role on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, including Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY). Barr spoke briefly at the Flyover Fintech conference hosted by Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) on Monday in Lincoln, Nebraska.

importance

Many cryptocurrency-related priorities rely on the Financial Services Committee, including stablecoin legislation, market structure bills, and even industry efforts to overturn SEC guidance, which need to pass through the committee. The committee's Republican leadership may also need to work with the committee's Democratic leader, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), in the event that her party controls the House or other situations that require bipartisan support. Barr laid out some of his views in a lunch speech and a brief Q&A, and shared more specific thoughts on cryptocurrency after the meeting.

Analysis

Rep. Barr, who is one of several Republican lawmakers hoping to lead the Republican wing of the Financial Services Committee next year, gave a speech to an audience of about 300 during a lunch break at Flyover Fintech, outlining his vision for restoring the "American Dream."

After his public remarks, Barr spoke with CoinDesk to lay out his stance as he prepares for next month’s Republican caucus leadership election.

“I’m doing my best to paint a vision and communicate to my colleagues what that vision means, while also listening to what they expect from the leadership of the House Financial Services Committee,” Barr said.

House Republicans will vote to select party leaders, including the whip and leader, shortly after next month's election. Lawmakers will then appoint a steering committee before selecting committee chairmen (and ranking members if Democrats retake the House).

When asked what cryptocurrency-related initiatives he might focus on if elected, Barr said the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) would be part of his agenda.

“If we can’t get FIT21 through the NDAA and the omnibus appropriations bill at the end of the year, then we need to keep working on it, double down on it, and reintroduce it in the next Congress,” he said.

If the bill is delayed until the next Congress, Barr said it would be an opportunity to amend the bill, although he said he didn't have "a lot of changes to recommend."

“I think they’re doing an amazing job,” he said, referring to Reps. Mike Henry, France Hill (R-Ark.) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD).

"If the reason the bill failed in the lame duck session was that we didn't have enough Democratic support, then this will give us an opportunity to see how we can get things done," he said. "We shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, right?"

Barr also called it “disappointing” that Congress had failed to overturn President Joe Biden’s veto of the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, a controversial custody rule that cryptocurrency advocates say prevents most financial institutions from providing custody services to the industry.

“We need to create a way for regulated financial institutions, banks and non-banks, to safely custody digital assets,” he said.

I also discussed the legislation more with Rep. Flood after the day’s event, and he mentioned that Rep. McHenry was “well respected” and that people were still trying to find a way to get FIT21 passed during the upcoming lame duck session (the time between Election Day in two weeks and the inauguration of the new Congress in January).

“I still remain hopeful that at least we can get FIT done,” he said. Stablecoin legislation will wait until next year, and if FIT21 fails to pass in 2024, he stressed that it will be passed in 2025.

“We have serious financial innovators who can create a lot of jobs, generate wealth and further solidify the United States as a global financial giant,” he said. “But there are pitfalls, there are a lot of things to be aware of, and regulators and lawmakers need to make sure that as we build the foundation, we don’t make the rules too restrictive. So I think it’s difficult to sit here and not be excited about some of the innovation that’s happening, but at the same time, how are we going to regulate it? How are we going to make sure that innovation can survive under our regulations?”