With a Senate vote approaching, Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone outlined potential outcomes if the CLARITY Act fails to advance, signaling that legislative fixes are unlikely to materialize quickly.
Lame-Duck Session Unlikely
Carbone indicated that passing the bill during a lame-duck session or in early next Congress is improbable. If momentum stalls before the election, he expects a fundamentally different regulatory landscape to emerge instead.
Regulators Expected to Act Independently
Carbone identified the most likely immediate response as regulatory action. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has already signaled the agency will pursue CLARITY's objectives through guidance and rulemaking if Congress does not act. An SEC innovation exemption could arrive quickly if the bill stalls, Carbone suggested.
Breaking Up the Bill
A second pathway involves separating CLARITY into its component parts. The bill comprises approximately 40 to 50 separate bills consolidated into one package, creating opportunities to extract individual provisions and attach them to must-pass legislation later in the year. Carbone cited the National Defense Authorization Act, which has passed annually for six decades, as a potential vehicle for such provisions.
Carbone expressed skepticism about this approach's success rate but remained confident that independent regulatory implementation is the more probable outcome. He expects regulatory agencies to establish the framework for the next two years through agency action if CLARITY does not clear its September 15 deadline.
