- Ted Cruz lashed out at Democrats for objecting to the amendments thereby calling it a harmful and reckless move.
- Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis sees it as a step against innovation.
In the latest update a few hours back, Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who represents Texas, has shed some light on the latest developments regarding voting for the amendments in the infrastructure bill.
In his latest tweets, Cruz noted that there’s been a “partisan disagreement” on spending. As a result, the U.S. Democrats have disagreed with ALL further amendments in the bill. Cruz adds:
That means NO vote on Wyden-Lummis to lessen the damage this bill will do to crypto, & NO vote on the Cruz amd. to repeal the new crypto rules altogether. The Senate’s going to inflict billions of dollars of damage on the growing & exciting crypto industry & drive much of it overseas.
Cruz further lashed out at the Democrats for having little understanding of the developments in the crypto space. Taking a shot at the Senate, Cruz wrote: “Let’s tax the hell out of something we know nothing about”. He referred to the Senate’s decision as absolutely “reckless and harmful”.
Crypto Taxes and the Infrastructure Bill
The massive $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill has created a major controversy concerning the taxes that it plans to introduce on crypto spending or transactions. The White House is eyeing an additional $28 billion revenue every year with such transactions.
However, the controversy has been surrounding the unclear language of the bill and the broader inclusion of players with the definition of “broker”. As per the current status, the “broker” definition caters to all stakeholders including miners, DeFi players, lenders, stakers, etc.
The crypto community has lashed out at such an infrastructure bill while proposing amendments to it. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden along with Republican Senators Pat Toomey and Cynthia Lummis proposed some changes that were backed by the crypto community.
However, the White House approved a competing proposal from Democrats Mark Warner and Kyrsten Sinema. The vote in the Senate shall further decide the course of action in the Senate.
On Sunday, August 8, the pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis spoke about the recent developments in the matter. The Senate has held up the amendments due to the conflict between the Senators as per the 30-hour rule. The Republican senator representing the State of Wyoming wrote:
Some senators want to keep focusing on the infrastructure bill for 30 hours to raise awareness about its price tag. Senator Schumer wants to quickly vote in order to focus on other legislation, and won’t allow amendment votes unless that happens.
So we’re at an impasse. I understand my colleagues’ positions. But real people are going to be hurt if we do not change the language in this bill. Tomorrow we’ll be back in session and again work to convince our colleagues and Senator Schumer that our amendment deserves a vote.
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What’s Next?
The 30-hour window to vote on the amendment will expire on early Tuesday morning. However, lawmakers can unanimously agree and set off the debate earlier.
On the flip-side, if the lawmakers don’t reach an agreement, the original language in the legislation will remain. Several crypto industry veterans have criticized the original provision including tech giants like Twitter.
