{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2025-05-05-pt1-PgS2751", "2025-05-05", 119, 1, null, null, "PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY RELATING TO \"NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR...", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S2751", "S2753", "[{\"name\": \"Elizabeth Warren\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"John Thune\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"SJRES\", \"number\": \"7\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"SJRES\", \"number\": \"13\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"HJRES\", \"number\": \"60\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"HJRES\", \"number\": \"61\"}]", "171 Cong. Rec. S2751", "Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 74 (Monday, May 5, 2025)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 74 (Monday, May 5, 2025)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S2751-S2753]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n  PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5,\n    UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL\n    PROTECTION AGENCY RELATING TO ``NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR\n         HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS: RUBBER TIRE MANUFACTURING''\n\n =========================== NOTE ===========================\n\n  On page S2751, May 5, 2025, first column, the following appears:\nPROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE\n5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL\nPROTECTION AGENCY RELATING TO ``NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR\nHAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS: RUBBER TIRE MANUFACTURING''--Motion to\nProceed\n\n  The online Record has been corrected to read:PROVIDING FOR\nCONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED\nSTATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION\nAGENCY RELATING TO ``NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR\nPOLLUTANTS: RUBBER TIRE MANUFACTURING''\n\n ========================= END NOTE =========================\n\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ricketts). The clerk will report the joint\nresolution by title.\n  The bill clerk read as follows:\n\n       A joint resolution (H.J. Res. 61) providing for\n     congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United\n     States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental\n     Protection Agency relating to ``National Emission Standards\n     for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing''.\n\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under provisions of 5 USC 802, there will now\nbe up to 10 hours of debate, equally divided.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.\n\n                               GENIUS Act\n\n  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the GENIUS Act\nand the urgent need to strengthen this bill before the Senate votes on\nit later this week. The GENIUS Act would create a framework for\nbringing stablecoins deeper into the U.S. financial system.\n  For those who are unfamiliar with stablecoins, they are a type of\ncryptocurrency whose value is pegged to the value of another asset like\nthe U.S. dollar. A stablecoin is similar to a bank deposit only without\nthe guarantees of a bank behind it. A stablecoin is supposed to\nmaintain a stable value, so a holder can redeem it to get their cash\nback on demand, and they can make payments with it, at least in theory.\n  Democrats want to work with Republicans to advance a stablecoin bill\nthat will make stablecoins safer to use and curb the worst abuses of\nthe industry. There are five areas that need revision.\n\n  First, a bill must include basic rules so government officials can't\nuse stablecoin ventures to line their own pockets and so that foreign\ngovernments and giant corporations cannot use stablecoins to pay bribes\nto the President of the United States.\n  Second, the bill must prevent Big Tech and other commercial firms\nfrom issuing stablecoins, thereby preserving America's historical\nseparation between banking and commerce.\n  Third, the bill must include basic consumer protections--the same as\nfor any other financial transaction.\n  Fourth, the bill must safeguard national security, providing the same\nguardrails as other payment systems, to make sure that we are not\nturbocharging the financing of drug traffickers, terrorists,\nadversaries like North Korea, and crypto scammers.\n  And, fifth, the bill must have sufficient safeguards so that a\nstablecoin meltdown won't trigger an economywide financial meltdown.\n  With adequate changes in those five areas, Democrats can support the\nGENIUS Act.\n  When the GENIUS Act was before the Banking Committee in March, Senate\nDemocrats worked hard to improve the bill. Together, Democrats\nintroduced nearly 70 amendments. We called for votes on more than two\ndozen of them. Every single Democrat voted for every single amendment,\nand every single Republican voted no. When the bill advanced out of the\ncommittee, Democrats made clear they needed to see real changes in the\nbill before they could vote for it down here on the floor of the\nSenate.\n  The version that will be voted on by the full Senate as early as this\nThursday makes only minor changes, leaving fundamental problems with\nthe bill. I know that the Republican majority intends to force this\nvote with no real changes. That would be a mistake. If the majority\nwants to establish a durable legal framework for digital assets rather\nthan just try to score political points, they will take these concerns\nseriously and agree to improve the bill.\n  Since the committee vote, President Trump's aggressive efforts to\nprofit from stablecoins and the obvious opportunities from bribery and\nother influence peddling have demonstrated why it is vital that we make\nmeaningful, substantive reforms to the bill. So let's talk for just a\nminute about how we got here.\n  During his first term, Donald Trump was extremely critical of crypto,\ndescribing crypto as ``highly volatile and based on thin air''--thin\nair--and highlighting that it can ``facilitate unlawful behavior,\nincluding drug trade and other illegal activity.''\n  When he ran for office in 2024, however, the crypto industry poured\nenormous sums of money into Donald Trump's election, and after he was\nelected, crypto leaders contributed another $18 million to his\ninauguration. It was no surprise when Trump reversed his position and\nbegan to boost the industry, but it has been shocking to see Donald\nTrump move at breakneck speed to use his position as President to reap\nbillions of dollars for himself personally and for his family.\n  The biggest corruption scandal in modern history is unfolding right\nnow, and no one in here is paying attention to it. Trump has created\nthe opportunity to trade Presidential favors like tariff exemptions,\npardons, and government appointments for crypto purchases that will\ndirectly benefit himself and his family, and no one needs to speculate\non what might happen. All of this is happening in full view of the\npublic. Over his first 100 days, the President has enabled corruption\non such an unprecedented scale it would truly make a two-bit dictator\nblush.\n  Most people are aware that the meme coin Trump launched ahead of his\ninauguration was sagging in value recently, so his recent announcement\nthat he would host a dinner for the top 220 investors in the coin and\nwould provide an ``exclusive bonus'' VIP White House tour for the top\n25 investors suddenly boosted Trump's crypto venture. Trump has already\nmade more than $300 million from trading fees alone and billions more\nin unrealized gains since he owns 80 percent of those coins.\n  And this is not his only crypto grift. Two weeks after the Banking\nCommittee voted on the GENIUS Act in March, President Trump's crypto\ncompany World Liberty Financial launched its own stablecoin called\nUSD1. Donald Junior is promoting it as ``just as safe as a bank account\nbut without all that extra nonsense.'' USD1 was quietly launched less\nthan a week ago, and its market capitalization now exceeds $2 billion.\nIt is already the seventh largest stablecoin in the entire world.\n  As the New York Times reported last week in a front-page story about\nTrump's crypto corruption:\n\n       World Liberty Financial has eviscerated the boundary\n     between private enterprise and government policy in ways\n     without precedent in modern American history.\n\n  And here is the most egregious example: Trump's stablecoin was issued\non the network of Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world.\nBinance is an interesting choice to be Trump's partner in the\nstablecoin business. Back in 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to criminal\ncharges after allowing ``money to flow to terrorists, cyber criminals,\nand child abusers through its platform.'' Its CEO went to jail after\nalso pleading guilty to criminal money laundering charges. He is\nreportedly lobbying Trump for a pardon. What better way to buy off\nDonald Trump than to offer him a very favorable business deal in the\nstablecoin business.\n  The opportunity for corruption is not hypothetical. Trump has already\ngiven us a staggering example. Last week, it was reported that an Abu\nDhabi investment firm MGX is using Trump's USD1 stablecoin to finance a\n$2 billion investment in Binance, essentially giving Trump a cut of the\ndeal. The firm is chaired by the so-called spy sheikh of the United\nArab Emirates and co-\n\n[[Page S2752]]\n\nowned by G42, a firm with extensive ties to the Chinese Government. The\nTrump Organization recently announced plans to build a hotel and an\napartment building in the UAE, and buyers--you guessed it--will be\nallowed to make payments in bitcoins.\n  The GENIUS Act makes this kind of corruption worse. There is nothing\nin the bill to stop it. Instead, the bill would accelerate it.\nPresident Trump and the crypto industry are not trying to jam through\nthis bill because they know it will make corruption and bribery harder.\nThey are trying to jam it through because they know it will turbocharge\nthe size and scale of the stablecoin market and help boost the value of\ntheir own stablecoin ventures, all while containing no real\nrestrictions on the President's self-dealing.\n  Under the current version of the bill, President Trump is able to\nrake in transaction fees every time his stablecoin is used or traded.\nWhen trading is active, those fees are measured in the hundreds of\nmillions of dollars.\n  Trump will also make money a second way: Everyone who owns USD1\nessentially provides Trump with an interest-free loan. This means that\nTrump will make money on assets backing the stablecoin, and he will pay\nno interest to the holders of the coin. Big corporations and foreign\ngovernments can run the MGX play and use USD1 to cut Trump in on\nbusiness deals or openly pay him off for tariff exemptions and other\nspecial deals, pardons, or government appointments. For a giant\ncorporation hoping to see a prosecution dropped or a license granted,\nTrump's new stablecoin business creates a way to offer a payoff for the\nPresident of the United States to use his influence to get the desired\noutcome.\n  These massive opportunities for grift must be stopped, and Democrats\nhave commonsense amendments to do exactly that. For example, we propose\nthat the President and all other elected officials and their families\nbe barred from owning, controlling, promoting, or otherwise\nparticipating in stablecoin business ventures. While I believe that all\nelected officials should be barred from buying, selling, and trading\nstock, investments in stablecoin companies themselves create a special\nrisk right now. Congress is currently writing laws that will sharply\nincrease or decrease the value of these businesses. The public should\nknow that no one is making decisions to further their own financial\ninterests. The current version of the GENIUS Act contains no such\nrestrictions. The Senate should not pass a bill that facilitates\nTrump's breathtaking corruption and lines his pockets and welcomes\nother elected officials to do the same.\n  There are other fundamental problems with the GENIUS Act that need to\nbe fixed before we vote.\n  It is crucial to prohibit the intermingling of commercial businesses\nand stablecoins. For centuries, our country has maintained a separation\nbetween our system of money and payments on the one side and actual\nbusinesses in the real economy on the other side. That separation helps\nprotect the stability of our financial system, helps promote fair\ncompetition in the economy, and prevents concentrating too much\neconomic power in the hands of just a few.\n  Democrats and Republicans have, time and again, linked arms to defend\nexactly this separation. For example, when Mark Zuckerberg tried to\nleverage Facebook to create a stablecoin in 2019, both Democrats and\nRepublicans said: No. Run Facebook or run a stablecoin operation, but\ndo not mix the two together. Under the GENIUS Act, however, Zuckerberg\ncould launch his own coin as soon as the bill is passed.\n  This is particularly of interest to Elon Musk. He has already\nexplained his plan to expand his social media platform X into a payment\nplatform, X Money. He has said that he can use the reach of X so that,\nin a few years, his X Money and his stablecoin will be ``half of the\nglobal financial system.'' The man has vision. He and other Big Tech\nbillionaires would be free to issue their own currencies to compete\nwith the U.S. dollar.\n  There is absolutely no reason to allow this. Other bipartisan\nstablecoin bills have not permitted this. Blessing ``co-President''\nElon Musk's ambitions to overtake the U.S. money supply is completely\nunnecessary to build a well-regulated and safe stablecoin regime.\nDemocrats have an amendment to prohibit the intermingling between\nnonfinancial companies and stablecoin issuers, and we should make that\nchange before we vote on the GENIUS Act here in the Senate.\n  It is also important to strengthen the GENIUS Act to safeguard our\nnational security. Stablecoins now count for more than 60 percent of\ncrypto transactions, according to a recent public analysis from the\nblockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, making them the ``new kingpin of\nillicit crypto activity.'' The current version of the bill does little\nto prevent stablecoins from being exploited by terrorists, cartels, and\ncriminals. In fact, compared to the version voted out of the Banking\nCommittee, the current bill creates new loopholes to allow operators of\nso-called decentralized crypto exchanges and other services to continue\ncirculating for noncompliant stablecoin issuers.\n  It is critical for service providers like crypto exchanges and\ncustodians to maintain programs to check for illegal financial activity\nand for our government to be able to sanction mixers that move millions\nof dollars for our adversaries. It is important also that terrorists\nand drug traffickers know that they cannot escape sanctions enforcement\nby switching from dollars to stablecoins, and it is critical that\nstablecoin issuers be required to monitor the blockchains on which\nstablecoins are traded. As drafted, the GENIUS Act does not include\nthose safeguards. Democrats have language to fix that.\n\n  We need also to ensure that the same basic consumer protections that\napply when somebody pays their rent using their checking account or\nbuys a cup of coffee with their credit card also apply to stablecoins.\nFor example, at a bare minimum, consumers should have easy access to\ntheir money if they want to redeem their stablecoins. However, the\nGENIUS Act does not do that, leaving consumers exposed to potential\ndelays, process hurdles, and junk fees.\n  When it comes to consumer protection, the most recent version of the\nbill actually got worse compared to the version that was voted on in\ncommittee. The current GENIUS Act strips out certain protections,\nleaving consumers exposed to fly-by-night, scammy wallet providers to\nhold their stablecoins. And--get this--all but the very largest\nstablecoin issuers get to evade auditing requirements, leaving\nconsumers vulnerable to the type of financial fraud that is now rampant\nin the crypto ecosystem.\n  Notably, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not mentioned\nonce in the bill despite the CFPB being responsible for enforcing our\nNation's Federal consumer financial laws.\n  As Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a Senate hearing shortly after\nDOGE attempted to shut down the CFPB, when CFPB is not on the job\nenforcing consumer protection laws, there is no one in the Federal\nGovernment to pick up the slack--no cop on the beat. That is exactly\nwhat the supporters of the GENIUS Act are hoping for--no one in the\nFederal Government who has the expertise or the budget to be a real cop\non the beat. The stablecoin scammer will target every person in\nAmerica, and under the GENIUS Act, they will run almost no risk of\ngetting caught.\n  The current version of the GENIUS Act leaves consumers exposed to\nscams, fraud, and abuse. We can plug those holes and make sure that\nconsumers are protected when making electronic payments regardless of\nthe technology that underpins the transaction, and Democrats have\namendments for that.\n  Finally, the GENIUS Act lacks the basic safeguards necessary to\nensure that stablecoins don't blow up our entire financial system. This\nisn't a hypothetical risk. Circle's stablecoin dipped from $1 to 88\ncents in March of 2023--2 years ago--threatening a broader run on the\ncrypto market. But regulators bailed out Circle's and other big\ncorporations' deposits at Silicon Valley Bank in order to prevent a\nbanking crash. Money market funds and the repo market, which pose\nsimilar risks as stablecoins, have been bailed out twice in less than\n20 years.\n  The threats that stablecoins pose to our economic system are real,\nand once\n\n[[Page S2753]]\n\nagain taxpayers will be called on to bail out millionaires and\nbillionaires--only this time, it will be the millionaires and\nbillionaires who are fronting for cryptocurrencies.\n  The bill as drafted permits stablecoin issuers to invest in riskier\nassets, including uninsured U.S. and foreign bank deposits and repo\nloans and hedge funds, and allows them to engage in risky nonstablecoin\nactivities, like private credit or derivatives trading.\n  At the same time, the bill constrains regulators' ability to apply\ncapital and liquidity safeguards to limit the chances of stablecoin\nfailures. It restricts regulators' ability to enforce the already weak\nrequirements of the bill when a stablecoin issuer violates them, and it\nstacks the deck against denying stablecoin applications submitted by\nrisky companies.\n  In addition, regulators would have no authority to block worrisome\nmergers and acquisitions even if the new stablecoin owners have a\nhistory of financial fraud or money laundering.\n  Let's just give an example here. Sam Bankman-Fried decides he wants\nto buy a stablecoin company while he is still in prison. The GENIUS Act\nsays: Go right ahead.\n  Democrats have solutions to fix these financial stability weaknesses,\nand we should include them in the bill now. If the GENIUS Act goes\nforward without these changes, Donald Trump will continue to line his\npockets with crypto scams while his policies continue to tank the\neconomy for everyone else. Efforts to personally pay off government\nofficials like the President of the United States will accelerate, and\nthey are going to happen right out in the open. Big Tech billionaires\nwill have even greater control over our economy. Terrorism financing\nand sanctions evasion risks will grow. Consumers will be at greater\nrisk of getting cheated. Another financial crash will be more likely.\n  The problems with this bill are serious, but here is the thing: They\ncan be solved. Democrats have offered solutions throughout this\nprocess, and it is not too late. We can find common ground on a\nreasonable framework to regulate the stablecoin market and to put those\nchanges into the bill now. But we cannot bless Trump's corruption and\nput consumers, our financial system, and our national security at risk.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moreno). The majority leader.\n\n                           Order of Procedure\n\n  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time on\nH.J. Res. 61 be expired at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 6, and the joint\nresolution be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of H.J.\nRes. 61, and, if passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made\nand laid upon the table; further, that following disposition of H.J.\nRes. 61, the majority leader or his designee be recognized to make a\nmotion to proceed to S.J. Res. 13 and, if the motion to proceed is\nagreed to, all time be expired and the Senate vote on passage of S.J.\nRes. 13 at a time to be determined by the majority leader in\nconsultation with the Democratic leader on Wednesday, May 7; further,\nthat on Tuesday, May 6, the Senate execute the order of May 1 with\nrespect to the Bisignano nomination at 2:15 p.m. and, following\ndisposition of the Bisignano nomination, the Senate resume legislative\nsession and the majority leader or his designee be recognized to make a\nmotion to proceed to S.J. Res. 7 and, if the motion to proceed is\nagreed to, all time be expired and the Senate vote on passage of S.J.\nRes. 7 at a time to be determined by the majority leader in\nconsultation with the Democratic leader on Thursday, May 8; finally,\nthat at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, the majority leader or his\ndesignee be recognized to make a motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 60 and,\nif the motion to proceed is agreed to, all time be expired and the\nSenate vote on passage of H.J. Res. 60 at a time to be determined by\nthe majority leader in consultation with the Democratic leader on\nThursday, May 8.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2025-05-05-pt1-PgS2751"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 31.631245044991374, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}