During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) spoke about Democrats voting against invoking cloture on a cryptocurrency bill.
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00:00Senator from South Carolina.
00:02Thank you, Mr. President.
00:03Mr. President, today should have been,
00:06it should have been a historic day for Americans,
00:12a historic day for working class Americans,
00:15blue collar Americans to see their financial system democratized.
00:20Well, what does that mean, Mr. President?
00:22What it means, Mr. President,
00:23is a day where a single mother is like the one that raised me.
00:27The day becomes a little cheaper.
00:29Things become a little more affordable.
00:32Why, Mr. President?
00:33Because we were on the verge of doing something
00:36that would have made our markets safer and cheaper
00:42for everyday working Americans across this remarkable land.
00:50But instead, we witnessed a disappointing display
00:57of political gamesmanship that puts partisan politics above policy
01:05and obstruction above innovation.
01:10We could have come together as Republicans and Democrats,
01:14not in a bipartisan way, but in an American way,
01:18to deliver real change for the American people,
01:24real change embedded in the passing of the Genius Act.
01:32But not this day.
01:34I know that this day was supposed to be special.
01:40It was supposed to be the day that America as a nation would rise
01:47to the occasion of innovation over regulation.
01:50It was supposed to be the day where we would come together
01:54in a nonpartisan way, Republicans working with Democrats
01:58to make this nation work better for that blue collar comeback.
02:02It was supposed to be that day, but not this day.
02:10I know what those on the other side would say.
02:14Let's be brutally honest about it, though.
02:18The Genius Act was a bipartisan achievement
02:22at the banking committee.
02:24It was a bipartisan achievement
02:27because we took the time, hours upon hours.
02:32You were there, Mr. President.
02:34We debated day in and day out for weeks and months
02:38before we ever had the hearing.
02:43We offered almost 80 amendments during this session
02:49at the banking committee.
02:51We voted on 40 amendments in the banking committee.
02:58We made the decision to make America's economy safer
03:03and cheaper for the American people.
03:08But when the lights came on
03:09and the cameras were watching,
03:13what did we see?
03:16We saw those same Democrat colleagues
03:19who recognized the urgent need
03:22to bring stable coins
03:24into the clear, responsible, regulatory framework.
03:27We watched them take a step back
03:30and vote against the very bill they voted for.
03:38The bill they shaped.
03:42What changed?
03:45What changed?
03:46What changed, Mr. President?
03:54Not the substance.
03:57They got more of what they wanted
03:58in the last five iterations of the legislation.
04:04What changed, Mr. President,
04:07was politics.
04:09Not policy.
04:11Not the legislation.
04:13Not the substance.
04:14Not the substance.
04:15Politics.
04:20Let's be honest.
04:22What we saw today
04:24wasn't a vote against the legislation.
04:29Several iterations.
04:31Your staff, my staff, and Democrat staff
04:34spent thousands of hours
04:37working on improving the bill.
04:40Up until 2 a.m. last night,
04:46staff getting phone calls from Democrats
04:49about what they needed for the bill to pass.
04:56It was a vote.
04:57It was a vote against President Trump
05:10and President Trump's legislative agenda.
05:15It was a vote to stop President Trump
05:20from having a victory in the digital asset space.
05:25It was a vote against common sense.
05:30That simple.
05:31Trump derangement syndrome
05:34has once again hijacked
05:37responsible governance in this chamber.
05:42But unfortunately,
05:46unfortunately,
05:48it's the American people.
05:52They are the ones who lose.
05:55It's blue-collar,
05:57red-blooded Americans
05:59who pay the ultimate price
06:02of inaction in this chamber
06:05brought about because of politics,
06:08not policy.
06:09And it frustrates me.
06:13It frustrates me to sit through
06:15hours of meetings.
06:17It frustrates me to watch
06:19people look me in my eyes
06:21and tell me we're almost there.
06:22I just need one more thing.
06:26It frustrates me
06:28when my colleagues seem so sincere
06:32that they want the revolution
06:34of innovation to happen in America.
06:37It frustrates me
06:39to watch them turn their back
06:41on the very people
06:43they say
06:44they represent.
06:47And it frustrates me,
06:49Mr. Chairman,
06:50Mr. President,
06:51it frustrates me
06:52that the modern financial tools
06:57that makes our economy
06:59not just faster,
07:02but safer,
07:03safer because the blockchain technology
07:08makes it safer
07:10and more inclusive.
07:12Entrepreneurs and developers
07:14want clarity
07:15so they can build here
07:16in the United States of America,
07:18not be pushed offshore
07:20into a regulatory environment
07:24that is confusing.
07:25Let me close with this,
07:28Mr. President.
07:31The bill delivered
07:32on exactly
07:33what we all want.
07:36Safety,
07:38consumer protections,
07:41AML, BSA,
07:43all the things
07:44that you would want,
07:44that I would want,
07:45that they would want.
07:46We did it.
07:47We did it together.
07:48But there's something
07:51putrid.
07:58It's hard
07:59to understand
08:02how my good friends
08:04could walk away
08:07from our priorities.
08:10But my colleagues
08:14on the other side
08:15of the aisle
08:15decided to chicken out
08:18on safety,
08:20on inclusion,
08:22and on democratization.
08:25When the cameras were rolling,
08:26the stakes were high.
08:29We were left
08:30high and dry.
08:33Not because of the policy,
08:36but because
08:36the political landscape
08:38dictated,
08:40demanded
08:41that they deny
08:42the average American
08:45access
08:46on this day.
08:49This is exactly
08:50the kind
08:51of cynical
08:52Washington maneuvering
08:54that makes people
08:56sick to their stomach.
09:00But Mr. President,
09:01I am proud
09:03of the work
09:05that we have done.
09:06I am frankly proud
09:07of the work
09:08that my democrat
09:09colleagues
09:09on the committee
09:10offered to make
09:11the bill better.
09:13I'm proud
09:14of the fact
09:15that for a couple
09:16of hours
09:17in America's capital,
09:19we put partisanship
09:21to the side.
09:23We decided
09:24we would just
09:24do the right thing.
09:27I'm proud
09:27that the Republican Party
09:37stood up
09:39and stood firm
09:41on innovation,
09:42stood strong
09:44on consumer protection,
09:45and we were there
09:47for national security.
09:50I'm not finished
09:51fighting,
09:51Mr. President.
09:52I am frustrated,
09:54but we are not defeated.
09:58We are simply
09:59delayed.
10:01We are not
10:03finished
10:04fighting.
10:05We will continue
10:06to work
10:07on the digital
10:09asset revolution
10:10that the American people
10:12voted for.
10:13They deserve.
10:14The need
10:18hasn't disappeared.
10:20Neither
10:21has our commitment
10:22to American leadership
10:24in the digital
10:26asset space.
10:27To those
10:28who chose
10:30politics
10:31over progress
10:32today,
10:34the American
10:36people
10:37are watching.
10:38Are watching.
10:39the American
10:39peace
10:41is
10:41just
10:42to
10:42to
10:43do
10:44in the
10:44to
10:46to
10:47the
10:48peace
11:04,