House Financial Services Chairman Calls for Governance Limits and Clarity for Stablecoins

House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) Chairman Patrick McHenry aims to reduce the influence of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives in financial markets.

In opening remarks for the committee’s markup of the “Protecting Americans’ Retirement Savings from Politics Act” (HR 4767) and other legislation on Thursday (July 27), McHenry said he aims to remove from corporate boardrooms the politics that he said come with ESG and restore the free flow of capital.

“ESG mandates politicize capital allocation, with the intent to force certain actions from American public companies,” McHenry said. “This leads to reduced returns for everyday investors and weaker economic growth by diverting executives’ attention away from sound financial management.”

The committee’s markup scheduled for Thursday also includes “The Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act” (HR 4766), which McHenry said in his opening remarks allows several regulatory paths for approving and regulating stablecoin issuers.

The bill has long been in development and nearly became a bipartisan product but ran into opposition on some points from the White House, McHenry said. He said the two parties negotiated in good faith and provided thoughtful feedback, adding that this “speaks to the urgency and importance of providing clarity for payment stablecoins.”

“This is a strong product that includes both Republican and Democratic feedback,” McHenry said. “I have confidence that it accomplishes our shared goal — to provide a clear regulatory framework for the issuance of payment stablecoins — and believe it deserves bipartisan support.”

It was reported in April that the political parties had divided over potential congressional action on stablecoin regulations after previously offering the bill bipartisan support.

During an April 19 hearing in the House, Republicans favored reviving a bill that would regulate stablecoin issuers and give them access to Federal Reserve banking services, while Democrats expressed concern about encouraging stronger ties between crypto and the banking system, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

The disagreements dashed hopes for the potential that Congress would bring stablecoins deeper into the regulatory fold by passing what was the first major piece of crypto legislation that lawmakers had at that point shared this year.