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Rules Committee rejects member amendments on crypto ethics, consumer protections and document releases; reports rules package to floor
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Summary
The House Rules Committee approved a rules package sending four measures to the floor but rejected several member proposed amendments — including bids to require self‑custody protections, bar elected officials from issuing stablecoins, and to require release of the so‑called Epstein materials — in recorded committee votes.
The House Rules Committee on Thursday approved a rules package to allow floor consideration of four measures — HR 4016 (Department of Defense appropriations FY26), HR 36 33 (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act), HR 19 19 (Anti‑CBDC Veil State Act) and Senate S 15 82 (Genius Act) — but members repeatedly offered and lost amendments on a range of policy and transparency items.
What passed: the committee approved the rules package in a recorded vote after considering many member‑proposed amendments. The motion to report the rule was offered by Representative Jack; committee minutes show the rules package was approved by the committee and the committee proceeded to transmit the rule to the House floor.
Notable defeated amendment votes (committee roll call results per committee record): - Self‑custody (Rep. Davidson): proposed language to protect individuals’ right to maintain a hardware or software wallet (self custody). The committee recorded a tie/close tally in voice and roll calls before the amendment was not made part of the reported rule (recorded tallies in committee minutes showed 6 yeas, 6 nays in one recorded count). - Prohibit elected officials from issuing stablecoins (Rep. Neguse): an amendment that would bar members of Congress and senior executive officials from issuing payment stablecoins during their public service was defeated on a committee roll call (committee recorded result: 4 yeas, 8 nays on the roll call request). - Requirement to release Epstein‑related files and oversight reporting (Rep. Khanna & others): committee rejected a proposal urging the administration to make certain files public and requiring DOJ/FBI reporting on any suppression or delays. A roll call on the related effort recorded 4 yeas and 8 nays. - Consumer “bill of rights” for crypto (Rep. Scanlon): an amendment proposing a list of consumer protections and additional funding for SEC/CFTC enforcement was rejected (roll‑call result 4 yeas, 8 nays).
Committee debate and context: Members on both sides criticized the closed nature of some of the procedural steps; several members of the committees of jurisdiction argued for broader opportunity to offer, debate and vote on amendments on the floor. Advocates of the defeated amendments argued they would add consumer protections (customer service, SIPC‑like coverage, proof of reserves, anti‑front‑running and withdrawal access) or would remove conflicts of interest for public officials; proponents of the rules package and sponsors said the bills already include statutory protections for consumers and preserve existing ethics laws and enforcement authorities.
Outcome and next steps: With the rules package adopted, the bills named in the rule are now available for House floor consideration under the debate times and amendment structure laid out in the Rules Committee report. Members who pressed for additional amendments indicated they plan to pursue their proposals on the floor where possible or in conference with the Senate.
Why this matters: The committee vote sets the House floor’s procedural path for a set of measures with high policy stakes — defense funding and a suite of digital‑asset bills that will shape how the United States regulates tokenized markets and payment instruments. The committee’s rejection of several member amendments highlights enduring tensions between closed procedural rules and individual members’ efforts to place targeted protections or ethics limits into the final legislation.
