Rep. French Hill: The House has the votes on three crypto bills

Key Concepts:

• Stablecoins (Dollar-backed payment stablecoins)
• Market Structure (for digital assets)
• Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
• Federal Reserve (The Fed)
• Rescission (of Unobligated funds)
• Budget Reconciliation
• Fiscal Year (FY) Spending
• Independent Monetary Authority

1. Crypto Bills and House Agenda

• The House is poised to take steps on three crypto bills.
• Senate Genius Act: Aims to create the first federally regulated, dollar-backed payment stablecoin with clear rules. The goal is to foster competition in payment systems using blockchain technology.
• House's work on Market Structure: This bill has bipartisan support from the House AG Committee and the House Financial Services Committee and addresses the market structure for digital assets.
• Tom Emmer's Bill: Seeks to block the federal government from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC) through the Fed without explicit authorization from Congress.
• Speaker is working on coordinating and presenting these measures to the House for consideration.

2. Voting and Sequencing of Bills

• The House expected to vote on clarity this afternoon and also vote on the defense appropriations bill and then vote on genius. The Senate stablecoin bill tomorrow.
• Discussions are ongoing regarding the sequencing of the bills due to previous disruptions in the House rule.

3. Discussions with President Trump and CBDC Concerns

• Some House members want to ensure that Tom Emmer's bill blocking a CBDC becomes law, not just passes the House.
• These members sought discussions with the Speaker and President Trump on how to ensure the bill's enactment.
• The Congressman supports the policy of preventing the Fed from creating a CBDC without Congressional approval.
• It's already illegal for the Fed to create a CBDC without Congressional approval. The bill is viewed as an extra layer of security ("belt and suspenders").
• Jay Powell has testified that the Fed requires Congressional authorization to issue a CBDC.

4. Government Spending and Rescission

• Referencing Doge, highlighting a discrepancy between proposed cuts (trillions/hundreds of billions) and actual rescissions ($9 billion).
• It's challenging to cut even $9 billion due to resistance from various constituencies supporting each spending program.
• The proposed $9 billion cut is only rescinding Unobligated funds in fiscal 25.
• The big beautiful bill had significant well over $1 trillion in spending cuts, permanent spending reforms that will lower future spending and the tax incentives to grow the economy. Budget reconciliation is a powerful tool.
• The goal is to bring FY26 spending back towards pre-pandemic levels, even while increasing spending on national defense and homeland security.

5. Federal Reserve and Chairman Powell

• Powell's term as Fed Chairman ends next May.
• President Trump will have an appointment to the board that's open in this coming February of 2026.
• President Trump's analysis, along with his Treasury Secretary's, indicates he cannot fire Jay Powell.
• Every president critically comments about the Federal Reserve and its policy.
• The speaker does not anticipate President Trump firing Chairman Powell.
• President Trump is actively working with Treasury Secretary Bessett on candid.

6. Technical Terms and Concepts

• Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency designed to minimize price volatility by being pegged to a stable asset like the US dollar.
• CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency): A digital form of a country's fiat currency, issued and regulated by the central bank.
• Rescission: The cancellation of previously approved spending authority.
• Unobligated Funds: Funds that have been appropriated by Congress but not yet committed to specific projects or expenses.
• Budget Reconciliation: A legislative process used to make changes to existing laws in order to meet budget goals.
• Independent Monetary Authority: The Federal Reserve is intended to be independent from political influence to ensure objective monetary policy decisions.

7. Synthesis/Conclusion

The interview covers critical financial topics, including cryptocurrency regulation, government spending, and the Federal Reserve. The House is considering bills to regulate stablecoins and prevent the Fed from issuing a CBDC without Congressional approval. Difficulties in cutting government spending, even relatively small amounts, were highlighted, emphasizing the challenge of fiscal responsibility. The discussion also touched on the independence of the Federal Reserve and the limited ability of the President to remove the Fed Chairman. The main takeaways revolve around the complexities of navigating financial policy and the political hurdles involved in achieving fiscal goals.