Republican lawmakers in the US Congress demanded answers from the White House Council of Economic Advisers about the council’s “rationale” on issues ranging from legislation to central bank digital currencies.
Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Mike Flood of Nebraska wrote a letter to council chair Cecilia Rouse on Monday questioning how crypto firms can comply with “conflicting” laws and whether the law is needed at all.
“Digital assets are at the heart of the future of our digital economy, but the Biden administration’s response is pushing innovators out of the US and into the hands of international competitors,” Flood tweeted on Wednesday.
The essence of those questions stems from concerns about what legislators call a “change of course” about the benefits of digital assets from the Biden administration.
Davidson and Flood cited President Biden’s executive order from March 2022, which some crypto advocates applauded calling it “Watershed moment for crypto.”
Order Called for protecting consumers, promoting US leadership in the field and exploring a central bank digital currency.
Davidson and Flood said there was “a significant change in tone” when the Council of Economic Advisers published it. President’s Economic Report in March.
In a dedicated 36-page chapter, the White House slammed the crypto industry, saying that crypto serves “mostly as a speculative investment vehicle” and described digital assets as volatile because “many of them have fundamental Not worth it.”
White House Probing Questions
Warren and Davidson asked the council to explain “how firms can be expected to comply with existing laws and regulations when the laws that are allegedly in force are conflicting, for example when a product is designed for safety and The object is considered both.”
The pair also asked the council to explain how central bank digital currencies and the FedNow instant payment system would be more inclusive than digital assets.
In a report in March this year, the council explored the potential inclusiveness benefits of a CBDC and FedNow system.
The FedNow service is a new instant payment system developed by the Federal Reserve.
Warren and Davidson asked Chair Rouse to respond by May 26.