Sewell Opening Statement at Oversight Subcommittee Hearing on Cryptocurrency
(As prepared for delivery)
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you to all the witnesses who have assembled here this morning.
The timing of this hearing and this week’s floor activities is not lost on me, House Democrats, or the American People. We are less than two weeks removed from single largest transfer of wealth from working Americans to the top 1% with the One Big Awful Bill – now Law. While millionaires and billionaires received extensive tax cuts, House & Senate Republicans took health insurance from 17 million Americans and will cause hospitals to close or scale back of emergency services.
Despite these dire consequences of the new law for Americans, House Republicans are trying to turn the public’s focus to digital assets. Republicans are—or at least attempted to yesterday—bring the CLARITY & GENIUS Acts to the Floor this week but have had no luck as of yet.
As Ranking Member, I agree that Congress needs to examine digital assets as a whole and I look forward to discussing the tax treatment of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, with you today.
I can tell you that over the fourteen years I have been in Congress, the rate in which digital assets have gone from niche blog posts to the front page of global publications is something to behold.
It is undeniable that digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, have transformed digital payments and investing. As digital assets take a larger role on the world stage, it is important that we protect consumers, remove bad actors, and ensure fair tax treatment for all.
We must work to strengthen, rather than weaken, the guardrails in place to protect Americans.
Earlier this year, President Trump launched his own memecoin. The media has reported that these coins have no intrinsic value but have netted over $300 million in fees. It is alarming that 80 percent of the coins’ supply were held by the Trump family and its partners. I came to Congress to fight for the families of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, not to help the President of the United States line his own pockets with hundreds of millions of dollars.
I look forward to hearing today’s testimonies and the questions that follow.
I yield back.
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