Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) was officially reappointed to serve as the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee's Task Force on Financial Technology (Fintech Task Force). Congressman Emmer became a member of the House Financial Services Committee in the 114th Congress and served as Ranking Member of the Fintech Taskforce during the 116th Congress.  

Additionally, the Republican members of the Taskforce released their “Fintech Report”, a synopsis of the work conducted by the group on Fintech-related issues during the previous Congress. You can read the report here.

Representative Emmer gave brief remarks this morning during the Financial Service Committee’s markup to reauthorize the Task Force. You can watch his remarks, here.

“As the Ranking Member of the Financial Technology Task Force, we broke ground on a number of new opportunities that will expand access to our financial system for millions of Americans,” said Emmer. “The Task Force explored emerging innovations and ways these technologies can benefit those who have struggled to access banking services in the past. I’m hopeful that the work of this task force will continue to lay the foundation for a better understanding of these financial technologies, and today’s release of the fintech report is yet another step towards fostering financial innovation and keeping America competitive on the global stage.”

Emmer concluded, "I am honored to serve as the Republican leader on the Financial Technology Task Force again this Congress, and look forward to building a greater understanding with my colleagues in Congress about the ways these technologies can revolutionize our financial system." 

“Recognizing the promise of technology to build a more inclusive financial system, I worked with my Democrat colleagues to establish the Committee’s task forces last Congress,” said Republican Leader McHenry. “Over the past two years, Republican task force members have made the case for innovation as the key to helping American consumers and businesses gain greater access to credit, investment opportunities, and our banking system. I applaud them for their excellent work. The recommendations in this report should guide the work of the task forces this Congress, as Committee Republicans continue to fight for greater choice and opportunity in our financial system.”

Here is a summary of Congressman Emmer’s work on Fintech during the 116th Congress:

• Hosted 7 hearings as Ranking Member of the Fintech Taskforce on topics ranging from the digital dollar to financial inclusion. 
• Serves as co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus.
• Called for the creation of a Subcommittee on the House Financial Services Committee dedicated to examining and supporting new financial technologies.
• Commissioned a report from the Law Library of Congress on the taxation of cryptocurrency around the world.
• Sent a letter to the SEC to encourage guidance for broker-dealers to custody digital assets, which resulted in the SEC providing a custody framework for these entities.
• Sent a letter to the IRS asking for guidance on the taxation of “block rewards” in a proof of stake network. 
• Sent a letter urging federal regulators to use blockchain solutions to respond to and mitigate the impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak. 
  
• Authored an op-ed in The Hill on financial technology. 
• Introduced legislation to require the SEC to study the operational regulatory challenges and opportunities in the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the post-trade clearing and settlement process.
• Secured additional time for the comment period to the Department of Treasury on proposed rulemaking that would significantly affect the blockchain industry and unhosted cryptocurrency wallets. 
  
• Introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to clarify that blockchain entrepreneurs who do not custody funds do not need to register as money transmitters.
• Introduced the Safe Harbor for Forked Assets Act which prohibits penalties against taxpayers until the IRS issues guidance on how to report gains or losses in "forked" digital assets.
• Introduced the Securities Clarity Act to provide a path to regulatory certainty for digital assets and other emerging technologies under securities law. 
• Championed the Main Street Growth Act to establish venture exchanges and help startups build capital and expand their operations. 

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