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Senator Cynthia Lummis is pressing Senate leaders to begin floor action on the CLARITY Act before lawmakers leave Washington for their August state work period.
The Wyoming Republican said on August 5 that the Senate could remain in session through the weekend to complete outstanding votes. The chamber’s tentative calendar places the start of its state work period on August 10.
Lummis Expects Senate to Remain in Session Through the Weekend
Lummis said she did not expect senators to leave on Friday because several measures still required votes, including the crypto market structure bill.
She said an initial vote would put senators on the record after 11 months of negotiations. Senate Majority Leader John Thune also said earlier in the week that he expected an initial CLARITY vote before the week ended.
The published Senate schedule for August 5 focused on a continuing resolution and did not list CLARITY. An initial procedural vote would begin floor consideration rather than constitute final passage.
CLARITY Needs at Least Eight Democratic Votes to Advance
The legislation requires at least eight Democratic votes to reach the Senate’s 60-vote threshold under the current balance of power. Confirmed Democratic support remains uncertain.
The Senate Banking Committee advanced H.R. 3633 by a 15-9 vote on May 14. Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks joined Republicans in moving the bill to the floor, although both later joined five other Democrats in saying the current text remained insufficient.
The bill would divide oversight of digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission while establishing requirements for exchanges, issuers and other intermediaries.
Ethics and Illicit-Finance Rules Remain Unresolved
Senate Banking Committee minority staff said the current draft contains unresolved gaps involving securities protections, illicit finance, decentralized mixers, presidential crypto interests and enforcement rights.
Lummis said negotiations had produced more than 300 pages of Democratic-requested revisions. Talks remained focused on the CFTC portion of the framework, law enforcement provisions and ethics restrictions for senior federal officials.
A successful procedural vote would not make CLARITY law. The Senate would still need to pass the legislation, and its amended version would require further House action before reaching the president.
