Patrick McHenry

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 91, a bill that would posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to the forgotten heroes of the Holocaust and that passed the House in June of this year. This bill will honor fearless heroes who rescued Jewish citizens who were being hunted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. These diplomats from around the world took quick and heroic action to save Jews attempting to flee Europe. They resisted the anti-Semitic Nazi agenda, risking their lives, safety, and successful careers. They risked their own lives to help innocent Jewish people flee persecution. Despite some receiving direct orders not to help the Jewish population, these diplomats issued passports and travel visas, set up safe houses and getaways to hide adults and children, and communicated with local communities to help fleeing Jews escape by traveling underground to safety. Because of these actions of these diplomats, hundreds of thousands of Jewish families in Europe escaped death at the hands of Hitler's Nazi regime. Today, we celebrate these diplomats and honor their lives and actions with the Congressional Gold Medal. Sadly, anti-Semitism is endemic and an unrelenting scourge on history and our society, rearing its ugly head even today, just as it did 80 years ago. S. 91 honors these diplomats who valiantly defied this systemic hatred by bravely doing what was right to stand up for not only the Jewish community but all of mankind. It is my hope that their courage will continue to inspire Americans today. I thank Congresswoman Salazar for introducing the House version, as well as Senator Hagerty for making important technical changes and sending this bill back to the House to ensure the final text of the bill is completely accurate. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill. I urge my colleagues to support it, as well, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 91) to award a Congressional Gold Medal collectively to 60 diplomats, in recognition of their bravery and heroism during the Holocaust.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it is important that this Congress make a statement and remember those valiant people around the globe, those forgotten heroes of the Holocaust, who did so much to save so many. Their story still has an impact on us today. One of the running themes of our discussions here this evening is the impact of others' lives and the examples of great men and women in our history that we should remember today. As a statement against anti-Semitism and for the valiant courage of those who were willing to risk their lives to save others, I think this is a very appropriate statement. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 91, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purposes of closing. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, but I will give my ranking member the final word on this subject. I close with one story that has an impact on me about Shirley Chisholm. We know the story of George Wallace, segregationist, racist, Governor of Alabama, running for the Presidential nomination. Shirley Chisholm was running for the same nomination. When George Wallace was shot five times while campaigning and then paralyzed, who showed up at the hospital but Shirley Chisholm? I think of myself as a charitable person. I think of myself as someone who could rise above. We all think that we have that in us, but imagine that. Imagine that somebody who is campaigning to take your rights away, to ensure that you don't have rights that are duly yours under the Constitution, and Shirley Chisholm was the one who showed up at the hospital. Talk about the charity and the spirit of that. That is so much bigger and so much greater than what we get to see in our common day. It is those special moments that give a perspective on who this person was. I didn't have the opportunity to know her, but I do get to pass her portrait here in the Capitol Building, and her portrait says it all. It absolutely says it all about who she was. I did not know her, but walking by that portrait, it is very clear who she was. When she says that she was unbought, unbossed, it is so clear in that portrait. When she retired in 1983, she returned to education, but she made an indelible mark on this institution, such that, in just her eight terms in this place, she had a lasting impact, such that we have a generation of lawmakers who look at her as an exemplar of who they hope to be and a symbol of what America can be. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of S. 4243 to honor Shirley Chisholm with the Congressional Gold Medal, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, if I may, I yield 2 additional minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 4243, a bill that would posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to Shirley Chisholm. On November 5, 1968, Shirley Chisholm, the daughter of Caribbean immigrants, became the first African-American woman in our Nation's history elected to Congress. As she liked to put it, she was ``the first Black woman Congressman.'' Mr. Speaker, 2 years later, she became a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. A year after that, she became the first woman and first African American to run for one of the two major parties' Presidential nominations. Shirley Chisolm has a much longer list of achievements that are quite impressive. Born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, Chisholm began her career in early childhood education before turning her focus to politics. Throughout her political career, Chisholm was a no-nonsense advocate. She was willing to fight for her working-class constituents and call out perceived injustices. Representative Chisholm once remarked: ``I did not come to Congress to behave myself and stay away from explosive issues so I can keep coming back.'' Now, my ranking member on the Financial Services Committee, the former chair of the Financial Services Committee, is equally unbashful in her approach in Congress, and I welcome that. At this point, I will allow the ranking member of the committee to say her words on one of her mentors. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 4243) to award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to Shirley Chisholm.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to cast my votes for H.R. 4866 and H.R. 4755. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 153 and YEA on Roll Call No. 154.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a unique and longstanding summer tradition in North Carolina's 10th Congressional District: church camp meetings. These annual events date back to the 1800s and are wonderful celebrations of faith, family, and community. There are three camp meetings in my district not far from where I live: the Balls Creek camp meeting held in Catawba County and the Rock Springs and Tucker's Grove camp meetings which are both held in Lincoln County and very close to where I live in Lincoln County. All three campgrounds are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Camp meetings happen each August and last for up to 2 weeks. Families gather for worship under an arbor which is a central open-air shelter that seats hundreds of people. There are also singings, youth rallies, and plenty of time to visit with family and friends. Many families, in fact, stay at the campground in wooden cabins known as tents. Ownership of many tents has been passed down for generations. These are beloved events, and they truly are events. These events were started so many years ago by families of the earliest settlers to the area. Many people who attend are direct descendants of these people of faith who first started gathering more than 150 years ago. It is important to not just honor our traditions, but to preserve them, and that is what these camp meetings do. The organizers of these camp meetings continue to do that with these important events and timeless expressions of our enduring faith. For that, we honor and thank them.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate a few wonderful things that happened in my district this fall. Mr. Speaker, every September, Cleveland County, North Carolina, celebrates an iconic event that marks the transition to autumn. This year, however, we have a special reason to celebrate. It is because the Cleveland County Fair in Shelby, North Carolina, is reaching an extraordinary milestone: its 100th anniversary. For a century, the fair has been more than just an event. It has been a cornerstone of our community. It has brought families together, celebrated Cleveland County's rich agricultural heritage, and provided endless entertainment with thrilling rides and fantastic food. As the leaves turn and the air grows crisp, the fair is the perfect way to welcome the fall season in North Carolina, and if you are a politician running for office, then you need to be there. The fair is a must. I have spent a lot of time shaking hands there over the years. I am really grateful for the opportunity to interact with people when they are having great family fun. I thank everyone who makes the fair happen, the volunteers and the folks who work the fair. I congratulate the Cleveland County Fair on its 100th anniversary. Recognizing Camp Meetings in North Carolina's Tenth Congressional District

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, due to an unforeseen circumstance, I was unable to cast my vote for H.R. 1130. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 405.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, due to an unforeseen circumstance, I was unable to cast my votes for H.R. 1157 or H.R. 8333. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 401, and YEA on Roll Call No. 402.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to cast my vote for S. Amdt. 227 on July 23, 2024. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 362.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to cast my votes for S. Amdt. 3249 or H.R. 8812. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 356, and YEA on Roll Call No. 358.

Mr. McHENRY

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, a lot has happened since the original vote in the House in May. A lot has happened. This is an asset class that more Americans own than ever before. This is a new technology being deployed that is going to be the backbone of the next generation of internet technology. Europeans are establishing a standard and clear rules of the road for crypto and a regulatory regime there. There are clear standards in Japan. There are clear standards in Singapore, the Middle East, and even Hong Kong. There is clarity and rules of the road for crypto. We had a two-thirds vote in support of clarity for crypto and a full regulatory regime for digital assets, like we have for securities, like we have for commodities, like we have for banking in the United States. These are clear rules of the road, a best-in-class set of regulations for consumers, for those who are creating the technology, who are deploying capital, and for the users of this technology. Madam Speaker, I know my two colleagues on the other side of the aisle who have spoken in opposition to this veto override voted against that regulatory regime, along with part of their party. I would say we need to look to the wider vote. Two-thirds of the House voted for a regulatory regime for crypto and clarity for crypto. There were 21 of my Democratic colleagues who voted for this original bill coming out of the House. Then it went to the Senate, and an interesting thing happened in the Senate. There were 12 Democratic Senators, Senator Wyden, Senator Lujan, Senator Booker, Senator Kelly, Senator Casey, Senator Hickenlooper, Senator Rosen, Senator Tester, Senator Peters, Senator Sinema, and Senator Gillibrand, who represents the capital markets in the United States in New York, and her colleague, New York Senator Schumer, who also happens to be the Democratic majority leader in the Senate. Madam Speaker, I say to my Democratic colleagues: This is not an unsafe vote to override this President's veto. It is a very safe vote for the minority to say to their constituents: I am pro-crypto, and I will stand up and do the right thing for clarity for crypto. Madam Speaker, we should have a wide bipartisan vote. We should override this veto. We should provide clarity under law. We should do this for consumer protection, and we should do this to be best in class in the world for digital assets. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this veto override and vote ``yes.'' Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of support from the bank trades, the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the Financial Services Forum, and SIFMA, which represents the securities industry in banking, in support of the vote to override the veto. July 10, 2024. Re Providing for Congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to ``Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121'' (H.J. Res. 109) Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Speaker Johnson and Minority Leader Jeffries: The American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Financial Services Forum, and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Associations) write to express our support for H.J. Res. 109, the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval for the Securities and Exchange Commission's ``Staff Accounting Bulletin 121.'' H.J. Res. 109 is being led by Reps. Mike Flood (R-NE) and Wiley Nickel (D- NC) and Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). Both the House and Senate passed the measure with a strong bipartisan vote on May 8 and May 16, respectively. Pres. Biden vetoed the measure on May 31, and we write today to voice our support for the House's vote later today to overturn the veto of H.J. Res. 109. In March 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of the Chief Accountant released Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, without consulting the prudential regulators or soliciting public comment, to address perceived risks to publicly traded companies that safeguard digital assets for their customers. Under SAB 121, an entity responsible for safeguarding digital assets for platform users must measure safeguarding assets and obligations on its balance sheet at the fair value of the related assets, which is a departure from accounting standards and the historical practice of treating custodial assets as off-balance sheet. As this effectively treats the custodied assets as those owned by a bank, SAB 121 effectively precludes banks from offering digital asset custody at scale since placing the value of client assets on their balance sheets will impact certain capital, liquidity, and other prudential requirements. Furthermore, SAB 121 undercuts the ability of banks to develop responsible use cases for distributed ledger technology (DLT) and encumbers regulated broker-dealers from custody services as a result of the net capital rule (Rule 15c3-1), which treats the on- balance sheet items as non-allowable assets. On February 14, 2024, the Associations sent a joint letter to the SEC noting that over the past two years SAB 121 has curbed the ability of our member banks to develop and bring to market at scale certain digital asset products and services. This includes spot bitcoin exchange traded products (recently approved by the Commission for investors) and the use of DLT to record traditional financial assets (i.e. tokenization). SAB 121 represents a significant departure from longstanding accounting treatment for custodial assets and threatens the industry's ability to provide its customers with safe and sound custody of digital assets. Other, non- bank digital asset platforms subject to SAB 121 are not required to meet the same capital, liquidity, or other prudential standards as banks and therefore do not face the economically prohibitive implications of SAB 121. Limiting banks' ability to offer these services leaves customers with few well-regulated, trusted options for safeguarding their digital asset portfolios and ultimately exposes them to increased risk. The Associations respectfully request that Members of the House vote in favor of overturning the veto of H.J. Res. 109. Sincerely, American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Financial Services Forum, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I have to address this, Mr. Speaker, because there is a lot of gibberish that I just heard about this vote being an endorsement of President Biden or something like that, and I don't want to get into that debate. I don't. The question of whether or not the President cares about the veto or is going to look through the vote count on this day or whatever else or the politics of what is happening in the hallways here with all my Democratic colleagues being asked about the President, I am trying to withhold from opining about those things. I see in press reports that the President is really dialed in between 10 and 4 and this vote being at 1 p.m., perhaps he is going to look at the vote total. Perhaps. However, that is all conjecture, and I don't want to get into the conjecture of this stuff. It is not part of the decorum of the House here. The substance here is about digital assets. What we have shown in this Chamber with a two-thirds vote, 71 Democrats joining with just about every Republican, saying that we want a market structure so that we can develop the next generation of internet technology here in the United States. We want to have consumer protection, safety and soundness ensured so that we can have the best capital markets on the globe, with capital attracted from around the globe here in the United States so it can be deployed safely, and then cutting-edge technologies and digital assets. Just as we had this debate on artificial intelligence, we voted with a two-thirds vote to have a regulatory regime that looks like our capital markets for crypto, and my colleagues, after 21 voted to repeal this stupid accounting--I am sorry--this ill-fitting, ill-designed, poorly thought-out accounting standard that says that crypto is not a real asset and we are going to treat it as this other thing so it can't be in regulated finance. We had 21 Democrats vote with us to repeal this rule. Then we had 71 Democrats vote for a full market structure for crypto. I would say to those 50 Democrats who voted on the large regulation, the larger regulation package on crypto, look at this anew, and if you want to send a message that you are pro-crypto, if you want to send the message to your voters that you are pro-crypto and you want to protect their assets, those 50 who voted for the market structure but didn't vote for this should vote with us. We should have a two-thirds vote of this House to repeal this ill-designed accounting standard. This is not a marker of Presidential leadership. What we have heard from this administration is all over the map on what they want to do with crypto, and now they are contorting themselves as the election gets closer. So let's just do the right thing. Let's support sound policy. Let's override this veto and send a message that America will remain the best place in the world to deploy capital with the best cutting-edge technology with consumer protection and law-abiding rights connected with those digital assets. Madam Speaker, I would say to my colleague that I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I would just say that the idea that Congress is going to wait because you have banks trying to get a special carve-out for themselves from Gary Gensler and the SEC, that is not sound public policy. The idea that Congress is going to wait and pause on overriding the President's veto is really bad policy that harms consumers. Just because we have a rumor that two people are talking or 10 people are talking, that is not the way a great state should do business. A great nation-state with the best capital markets on the globe should not be doing business this way. We should have clarity under the law that peoples' financial assets are going to be protected, and they are going to be protected in a resilient regime, which we have. We have it for securities. We have it for commodities. We should have it for digital assets, the same protections we have for these other financial assets, and we don't because of the actions of Gary Gensler and the Biden administration that have said that you can't hold these assets in custody. It has made it more risky for consumers to own digital assets. So let's reject this idea that we just wait for a couple of people to strike some private deal for a group of banks. Let's make this correct. Let's make it right for the American people. Let's vote to override this veto. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Flood), who is the author of the original bill that the President vetoed that we are now voting on again.

Mr. McHENRY. I am happy to yield.

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the ranking member to yield. There is this rumor that has been going about that there is this resolution at the SEC with a group of banks, and they are going to let certain banks custody digital assets in some deal that is being made. I have no details of it. The first public pronouncement of this I heard from the ranking member. I was just wondering, Mr. Speaker, if I could inquire of the ranking member if there is paper on this or any published accounts of what the ranking member said. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the ranking member. I am interested in this deal that she has talked about that certain banks can custody digital assets and there is a deal made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The first I heard of this was the pronouncement that the ranking member just made. I am just wondering if there is any published account of this or anything in writing we have from the SEC?

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of overriding President Biden's veto of H.J. Res. 109. It didn't have to be this way. It did not have to be this way on digital assets, on the regulation of digital assets, on the functioning of a new asset class that a substantial number of Americans, and those around the world, are using, a new set of technology. The Biden administration has been given every opportunity to work with this Congress on digital asset policy and to come to a reasonable conclusion on digital asset policy. In May, Congress passed a resolution to overturn the Securities and Exchange Commission's SAB 121 with broad bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. A lot has changed since that time. Following that vote, the House passed historic digital asset market structure legislation, called FIT21, with an overwhelming two-thirds support of this Chamber. In divided times, a vote like that in this Chamber is a substantial statement of the validity of a policy. That means that 71 members of the President's own party voted for that bill. Today's vote should mirror the support of FIT21, given that this policy change was also in that legislation they voted for. SAB 121 is one of the most glaring examples of the regulatory overreach that has defined Chair Gary Gensler's tenure at the Securities and Exchange Commission. It limits consumers' options to safely custody their digital assets, upending decades of bank custody practices and increasing concentration risk. This is real consumer harm that is now in the marketplace because of these rules that Gensler has put in place. Congress used the mechanism available to us, the Congressional Review Act, to overturn this harmful so-called guidance. To be clear, a bipartisan CRA sends a strong message. A bipartisan Congressional Review Act vote that passes both Chambers, well, that is a mandate from the Americans we represent. Despite all the recent progress and bipartisan agreement, President Biden vetoed the first digital asset-specific legislation that ever passed the House and Senate. It has never been clearer that this administration would rather play politics and side with power-hungry bureaucrats over the American people and over new technology and the safe use of new technology. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support today's resolution, overturn the veto, and take a small step to bring sanity to the American digital asset policy landscape. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.