Senate Banking markup draws 40 amendments on CLARITY Act
- Senate Banking Committee members marked up the CLARITY Act on May 14, as Elizabeth Warren filed more than 40 amendments before the panel advanced it. - The clearest number was 15-9: Chairman Tim Scott’s committee vote sent H.R. 3633 forward after Warren and other Democrats pressed changes. - The next step is the Senate floor, after the May 14 committee vote on H.R. 3633.
The Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act on May 14 after a markup that drew more than 100 amendments, including more than 40 from Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren. Chairman Tim Scott said the committee voted 15-9 to send H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, to the Senate floor. Warren used the session to argue the bill favored the crypto industry and left consumers, investors and national security exposed. A YouTube clip posted May 15 focused on Warren’s amendment volume and asked why she had filed “40” amendments. The committee’s own materials confirm the markup took place on May 14 at 10:30 a.m. in Dirksen 538 and that the bill under consideration was H.R. 3633. ### Why did Warren file so many amendments? Elizabeth Warren said on May 14 that the committee was considering “a bill written by the crypto industry for the crypto industry” and argued lawmakers should be strengthening it rather than rushing it forward. (banking.senate.gov) In her opening remarks, she said the committee had “never had a single hearing on this bill” despite calls from several senators for one. (youtube.com) More than 40 Warren amendments fit that strategy: use the markup to force votes or debate on specific guardrails she says are missing. Public reporting ahead of the session said committee members filed more than 100 amendments in total, with Warren alone responsible for more than 40. ### What was the committee actually marking up? (banking.senate.gov) H.R. 3633 is the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, a House-passed bill that was received in the Senate on September 18, 2025 and referred to the Banking Committee. The bill text says it would set a federal framework for digital commodities, divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, apply Bank Secrecy Act rules to certain digital-asset intermediaries, and address custody and stablecoin treatment in several sections. (finance.yahoo.com) Tim Scott described the measure as legislation to establish “clear rules of the road for digital assets.” A committee fact sheet released May 12 said the bill would impose anti-money-laundering, sanctions and customer-identification requirements on digital-asset brokers, dealers and exchanges, and would add disclosure and financial-literacy provisions. (congress.gov) ### Were custody, stablecoins and exchanges among the issues in play? The bill text itself shows those subjects were central to the markup. Section headings in the Senate-referred text include “Treatment of permitted payment stablecoins,” “Eligibility of alternative trading systems,” “Treatment of custody activities by banking institutions,” broker and dealer disclosure provisions, and registration rules for digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers. (banking.senate.gov) That aligns with the themes highlighted in the May 15 YouTube discussion, which pointed viewers to custody, stablecoin and exchange oversight as examples of Warren’s amendment targets. The clip did not itself establish the legal effect of those proposals, but it tracked issues that appear on the face of the bill. ### What did supporters say as the bill moved? (congress.gov) Tim Scott said on May 14 that the bill was the product of months of bipartisan negotiations and would protect consumers, keep innovation in the United States and strengthen national-security tools. After the vote, he said the committee had worked through “real differences” and advanced legislation with “clear rules, stronger safeguards, and better tools to stop bad actors.” (youtube.com) The committee majority’s May 12 fact sheet made the same case in more detail, saying the legislation would preserve anti-fraud authority, require anti-money-laundering programs and create a mechanism for service providers and permitted payment stablecoin issuers to pause suspicious transactions at law enforcement’s request. (banking.senate.gov) ### What happens after the markup vote? The Senate Banking Committee’s May 14 vote moved H.R. 3633 to the Senate floor. Scott’s office said the bill now proceeds to the full Senate, while the committee calendar records the markup as the key action taken on May 14. (banking.senate.gov 1) (banking.senate.gov 2)
