Rep. Tom Emmer: Digital assets will be a ‘sleeper issue’ for 2024 elections
Tom Emmer, majority whip of the United States House of Representatives and crypto proponent, says that digital assets have become a “sleeper issue” in U.S. politics, both at the state and federal levels.
Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Permissionless II conference in Austin, Texas on Sept. 11, Emmer said certain candidates running for office in 2024 may underestimate the impact of issues surrounding crypto and blockchain. He pointed to financial privacy concerns, specifically mentioning government oversight of central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs.
“It’s politically potent regardless of your political persuasion,” said Emmer. “Democrats, Republicans and others believe that your personal information is supposed to be yours, and you get to choose when you get to share it.”
According to Emmer, there is a generational divide in the U.S. in which residents could push back on policies that potentially inhibit the digital space and, in doing so, “flush out” technologically ignorant lawmakers. At least three candidates from both major U.S. political parties have taken a public position on CBDCs for the 2024 race.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican polling second behind former president Donald Trump, promised in July to ban CBDCs in the U.S. should his campaign be successful. In May, he signed a Florida bill into law aimed at largely prohibiting the use of a federally issued digital dollar in the U.S. state. Other longshot candidates who have taken positions opposing CBDCs include Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“We have a whole host of laws and regulations that say when you have to disclose, what you have to disclose, but it shouldn’t be just a blanket [statement on CBDCs],” said Emmer. “[The U.S. government] can do a central bank digital currency if it’s open, permissionless and private. It has to emulate cash.”
Related: Blockchain could authenticate AI as crypto racks up court victories: Rep. Emmer
Emmer has reintroduced a bill aimed at limiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC in the United States. He has also backed an appropriations amendment for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s funds, which could reduce the commission’s ability to follow through with enforcement actions on crypto firms.
On Sept. 20, the House Financial Services Committee will meet in a markup session for the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act — legislation that could prohibit the Fed from initiating CBDC pilot programs without approval from Congress. The committee discussed CBDCs in a Sept. 14 hearing for the first time since Congress’ August recess.
Magazine: Opinion: GOP crypto maxis almost as bad as Dems’ ‘anti-crypto army’
For decades he was the dissident backbencher, then unlikely Labour leader. She was a firebrand left-wing Labour MP with a huge online presence. To the left – on paper – it looked like the perfect combination.
Coupled with the support of four other independent MPs, it held the blueprints of a credible party. But ever since the launch of Your Party (working title) the left-wing movement has faced mockery and exasperation over its inability to look organised.
First, we learned Jeremy Corbyn’s team had been unaware of the exact timing of Zarah Sultana’s announcement that she would quit the Labour Party. Then a much bigger row emerged when she launched a membership drive linking people to sign up to the party without the full consent of the team.
It laid bare the holes in the structure of the party and pulled focus away from its core values of trying to be a party to counter Labour and Reform UK, while also drawing out some pretty robust language from their only woman MP calling the grouping a “sexist boys club”. It gave the impression that she was being sidelined by the four other male MPs behind the scenes.
This week, they tried to come together for the first time at a rally I attended in Liverpool and then, in quick succession, another event at The World Transformed conference the day after. But not everyone I spoke to who turned up to see the two heroes of the left found them all that convincing.
Jeremy Corbyn admitted to me that “there were some errors made about announcements and that caused a problem”. He said he was disappointed but that “we’re past that”.
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana take part in a discussion on Your Party at The World Transformed conference in Manchester. Pic: PA
Zarah Sultana said they were like Liam and Noel, who managed to “patch things up and have a very successful tour – we are doing the same”.
The problem is, it didn’t really explain what happened, or how they resolved things behind the scenes, and for some, it might have done too much damage already.
Layla signed up as a member when she first saw the link. It was the moment she had been waiting for after becoming frustrated with Labour. But she told me she found the ordeal “very unprofessional, very dishonest and messy”, and said she doesn’t want to be in a disorganised party and has lost trust in where her money will end up. She’s now thinking about the Greens. She said their leader, Zack Polanski “seemed like such a strong politician” with “a lot of charisma”.
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Jeremy Corbyn’s back – with Zarah Sultana and a new party. But is it a real threat to Labour, or just political theatre?
Since Polanski’s rise to power as leader, the Green Party has surged in popularity. According to a recent poll, they went up four points in just one week (following their conference). Voters, particularly on the left, seem to like his brand of “eco populism”.
While he has politely declined formally working in conjunction with Your Party publicly, he has said the “door is always open” to collaboration especially as he sees common goals between the two parties. Zarah Sultana said this weekend though that the Greens don’t describe themselves as socialists and that they support NATO which she has dubbed an “imperialist war machine”.
While newer coalitions may not be the problem for now, internal fissures might come sooner than they expect. Voters at the rally this weekend came with pretty clear concerns about some of the other independent MPs involved in Your Party.
The two heroes of the left fell out over a row over their party’s paid membership system
Read more on Sky News:
AI ‘distorting women online’
Pros and cons of digital IDs
Impact of new online safety rules
I asked Ayoub Khan if he considered himself left-wing. A question that would solicit a simple answer in a crowd like this. But he said his view was very simple, that he is interested in fighting for equality, fairness and justice: ‘We all know that different wards, different constituencies have different priorities and MPs should be allowed to represent the views of the communities they serve.” To him, that can sometimes mean voting against the private school tax and against decriminalising abortion.
The Your Party rally on Thursday night was packed, but the tone was subdued. People came full of optimism but they also wanted to make up their mind about the credibility of the new offering and to see the renewed reconciliation up close.
The organisers closed the evening off with John Lennon’s song, Imagine. That was apt, because until the party can get their act together, that’s all they’ll be doing.
An $11 billion Bitcoin whale returned to crypto markets this week, likely seeking trading opportunities tied to October’s historic crypto rallies and uncertainty in the US.
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