Cortez Masto Statement on CLARITY Act

Washington, D.C. – Senator Cortez Masto released the following statement after voting against moving the current version of the CLARITY Act out of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. “It’s clear we need to pass market structure legislation, and I’ve worked for months with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to negotiate a bill that provides clear rules of the road for a growing industry. But the current version of the CLARITY Act undermines law enforcement’s ability to trace illicit finance and recover victims’ money, while at the same time creating a more challenging environment to prosecute criminals for knowingly transmitting illicit funds,” said Senator Cortez Masto . “It’s disappointing that my commonsense fixes discussed among stakeholders and supported by police and prosecutors nationwide weren’t adopted today. But I’m committed to finding solutions that allow us to take on bad actors – the criminals not the everyday coders – while giving the millions of U.S. crypto users the certainty they need.” Senator Cortez Masto is a former Attorney General of Nevada who has a long track record of standing up for law enforcement and combatting illicit activity. Today, she submitted for the record letters from the National Sheriffs’ Association , the National District Attorneys Association , the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys , and the Major County Sheriffs of American, the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police expressing that the current draft of the CLARITY Act does not adequately address concerns raised by law enforcement and prosecutors. During today’s markup, Cortez Masto offered numerous amendments to the CLARITY Act that would address law enforcement’s and prosecutors’ concerns by ensuring those who are truly participating in money transmitting or securities trading don’t have a blanket exemption from accountability for illicit money transmitting and anti-money laundering requirements. Senator Cortez Masto also delivered remarks during today’s committee hearing outlining her concerns, which can be found here . ###