While comprehensive privacy legislation is unlikely this Congress, on July 30, the U.S. Senate, overwhelmingly passed a legislative package that includes the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online...more
Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 4763, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, by a vote of 279-136, including 71 votes from Democrats. The bill passed despite opposition from the White House...more
Background and Scope -
The Assessment was drafted by Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (“TFFC”), in consultation with multiple U.S. agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security,...more
Two congressional committees of the U.S. House of Representatives commenced the new year by announcing the creation of new subcommittees for the 118th Congress that are expected to analyze issues concerning cryptocurrency and...more
Takeaways:
..The Court granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the SEC) motion for summary judgment, holding that LBC tokens are securities and that the offers and sales of the tokens by LBRY, Inc. (LBRY)...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on October 20, 2022, issued its first-ever Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines. Publishing of the Guidelines reinforces recent...more
On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a report, “The Future of Money and Payments” (Report), in response to the President’s March 2022 Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of...more
10/3/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Information Reports ,
Money Services Business ,
Payment Systems ,
Public Policy ,
Stablecoins ,
U.S. Treasury
On Sept. 16, 2022, the White House released a Fact Sheet providing key findings and action items arising from the nine reports addressing digital assets that have been submitted to the president to date consistent with the...more
9/23/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stability Board ,
Innovation ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
OECD ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury
Takeaways -
..U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, or Commission) Chair Gary Gensler reaffirmed his view that the “vast majority” of cryptocurrency tokens are securities, and recent agency enforcement actions...more
Key Takeaways:
..The Senate voted 51-50 on August 7 to pass the Inflation Reduction Act.
..The legislation is expected to pass the House this week without changes and to be signed by President Biden.
..The...more
8/8/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Drug Pricing ,
Energy Projects ,
Federal Funding ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Medicare ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Renewable Energy ,
Superfund ,
Tax Credits
On June 7, Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced S. 4356, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (Lummis-Gillibrand Bill). If enacted, the legislation would create a regulatory framework...more
On March 9, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets (EO) and the White House released a corresponding fact sheet summarizing related key policy objectives. As...more
The push on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) disclosures has increased in the past several years, with these disclosures becoming a particular focus of the Biden Administration, the Securities and Exchange...more
House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters is calling on Congress to increase funding for Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight of Wall Street’s “regulatory and market structure weak points.”...more
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Gary Gensler as the 33rd Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”). This change will bring forth a Democratic majority at the...more
4/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fraud ,
FSOC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
While Washington is rushing to enact COVID-19 funding before the mid-March expiration of enhanced federal unemployment benefits, lawmakers face a host of upcoming policy deadlines that will require congressional action....more
2/10/2021
/ Airline Employees ,
Airports ,
CARES Act ,
Employee Retention ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Medicare ,
NDAA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Public Policy ,
Reimbursements ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Insurance
Congress voted to give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sweeping new authority to prosecute violations by creating a 10-year statute of limitations for the agency to seek disgorgement of ill-gotten gains from...more
On December 8, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved final passage of a $740.5 billion annual defense policy bill, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (“National...more
Election Day could produce massive changes in Washington and in the policies that would affect every American and every company. Even a status quo election could produce lasting regulatory consequences for key stakeholders....more
10/30/2020
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Donald Trump ,
Federal Budget ,
Filibuster ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Joe Biden ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Presidential Elections ,
Public Policy ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
On June 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division announced that they have signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding...more
Companies large and small are scrambling to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including understanding the emerging economic risks that could affect their profits, their operations and even their very existence....more