Representative French Hill, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, expressed continued hope for Senate passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act during the lame-duck session following the midterm elections. Hill stated he believes the legislation can advance despite earlier setbacks in securing sufficient votes.
Hill's Case for Legislative Action
Hill, who previously championed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT 21), acknowledged recent regulatory efforts by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to define digital assets and commodities. However, he argued this approach is inadequate.
"These regulatory policies fall short of what we have to do, which is have a legislative solution," Hill said in a Wednesday Fox Business interview. He emphasized that permanent legislative change is necessary to ensure American leadership in digital assets and blockchain technology.
Concerns Over Agency-Based Regulation
Analysts have noted that agency rules face inherent limitations compared to congressional legislation. According to legal analysis, agency policies can be revised or withdrawn by future administrations and are subject to enforcement priority shifts. The analysis cited the reversal of prior anti-crypto enforcement actions as an example of how regulatory direction can change with new leadership.
John Reed Stark, former chief of the SEC's Office of Internet Enforcement, has characterized the SEC's recent deregulation efforts as exceeding the agency's authority and usurping congressional powers.
