Oklahoma Pork Council interns expanded their horizons on Capitol Hill this summer by learning about all things federal policy! Among the opportunities Kate and Braden enjoyed in Washington, DC, was the chance to meet with legislators, learn about the federal government, and sit in on a House Agriculture Committee bill markup.
On Thursday morning, Oklahoma Pork’s group watched as the Financial Innovation and Technology of the 21st Century Act was debated heavily from both parties. “Today's introduction of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act marks a significant milestone in the House Committees on Agriculture and Financial Services efforts to establish a much-needed regulatory framework that protects consumers and investors and fosters American leadership in the digital asset space,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (PA-15).
It seemed strange that members of the House Ag. Committee were arguing topics like Bitcoin and the FTX bankruptcy, but because of the committee’s role governing commodities, digital commodities like blockchain currency remain under jurisdiction of the body. Among other topics within the bill, the ranking member argued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) needed more resources to carry out its newly outlined responsibility on top of a recent $100 million dollar increase to the agency. Ranking Member David Scott (GA-13) also warned the bill would encourage increased vertical integration, putting the U.S. finance industry at risk.
Chairman Thompson, however, claimed members of the committee have reached a bipartisan compromise of what could be very beneficial in modernizing how the United States regulates digital assets as a commodity or security. Nonetheless, amendments were made and debated by both sides before the bill ultimately passed out of the House Ag. Committee. This act will set the framework for how commodities and securities are defined in relation to American digital assets. The bill sets up funding for the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to collaborate on joint rulemaking for the digital asset marketplace.
The Oklahoma Pork team got a front row seat of how government is run in the House of Representatives. Click here to learn more about the Financial Innovation and Technology of the 21st Century Act.