U.S. House Republicans Reject Bundling Housing Bill with Cryptocurrency Legislation

Gate News reports that on March 25, U.S. House Republicans rejected a legislative deal proposed by the Senate. The deal suggested including the bipartisan community bank deregulation bill into pending cryptocurrency market structure legislation in exchange for the House’s acceptance of the Senate-passed affordable housing bill. Rep. Bill Huizenga, Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, expressed skepticism about this. Last week, Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee discussed the deal in a closed-door meeting, with Senator Katie Britt helping to pitch the proposal to other Republican senators. The House included community bank deregulation provisions in the housing bill passed in February, but the Senate’s housing bill this month did not contain these provisions. House Republicans stated that there are still multiple issues with the Senate housing bill, and simply adding the banking bill to cryptocurrency legislation is not enough to persuade them to accept the Senate version. Senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Andy Barr, expressed support for including banking regulation provisions in cryptocurrency legislation but also demanded that the Senate incorporate some of the House’s housing proposals.