House Financial Services Committee Holds Mark-Up of ESG, Digital Assets Bills

Prior to the August recess, the House Financial Services Committee held a two-day mark-up of several ESG and digital assets related bills. On the first day, the Committee advanced bills on blockchain, fintech, and the “Financial Innovation and Technology (FIT) for the 21st Century Act” (H.R. 4763) a bipartisan, comprehensive package that establishes a digital asset framework to provide regulatory certainty to the crypto market. The legislation would provide new regulations for digital asset exchanges and establish clear guidelines for the roles of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in overseeing cryptocurrencies. Because of the nature of the legislation, a dual authority mandate, the House Agriculture Committee also advanced the legislation during a mark-up the following day. The legislation would require joint rulemaking efforts by the SEC and CFTC. The bill will move to the House floor at some point after the August recess, but its prospects in the Senate are uncertain at this time.

During the second day of the mark-up, the House Financial Services Committee advanced ESG bills as well as a measure on stablecoins. Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) expressed disappointment with the Committee’s inability to reach an agreement on bipartisan stablecoin legislation. When discussing the ESG-related legislation, Chairman McHenry emphasized that Committee Republicans have prioritized getting politics out of corporate boardrooms, adding that two of the proposals are designed to reform the shareholder proposal process and increase transparency in the proxy advisory industry. The “Guiding Uniform and Responsible Disclosure Requirements and Information Limits (Guardrail) Act” would require companies to disclose only material information and mandate the SEC list and explain non-material disclosure demands.

Click here to watch an archived video of the July 26 mark-up and read the list of bills advanced out of Committee.
Click here to watch an archived video of the July 27 mark-up and read the list of bills advanced out of Committee.