Senator Lummis sends letter to Biden urging no veto for SAB 121 repeal

The Senator pointed to the troubling manner in which the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its controversial staff accounting bulletin.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis has sent a letter to President Joe Biden imploring him not to veto the recent Congressional repeal of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Staff Accounting Bulletin-121 (SAB-121).

The pro-crypto senator pointed to the contentious nature of SAB-121 and the SEC’s issuance of the guidance, which she characterized as improper. She also noted the dubious nature under which the regulator revealed the guidance.

“By inappropriately issuing guidance instead of engaging in notice and comment rulemaking, the SEC’s rulemaking was able to avoid a vote by the full commission on a contentious policy,” the lawmaker wrote.

The Wyoming senator continued, “It also provided SEC staff a pathway to avoid notice and comment provisions of the [Administrative Procedure Act], which prevented stakeholders, including the banking regulators, from being able to comment on the policy.”

She concluded her letter by noting SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s refusal to rescind the rule and the “clear bipartisan message” Congress sent to the government agency by voting to repeal SAB-121.

Related: Biden may rethink SAB 121 vote veto due to political support for crypto.

The SEC’s highly controversial Bulletin was set to take effect on April 11, 2024, but was met with considerable blowback from the crypto community and lawmakers alike.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted to repeal the SEC’s guidance by a margin of 228 to 182 and passed the bill to the Senate. Once there, senators echoed the House vote and elected to repeal SAB-121 by a decisive 60-38 votes.

Joe Biden warned Congress that if they voted to repeal the controversial Staff Accounting Bulletin, he would use his Executive powers to veto the repeal.

However, a recent change in the White House’s tenor toward cryptocurrencies may provide a glimmer of hope that Biden will not veto the repeal of the controversial measure.

Following former President Trump’s comments indicating his support for the crypto industry and decentralized technology, the Biden White House seems to be appealing to pro-crypto voters by asking blockchain companies and firms to provide input for the administration’s future crypto policy.

The crypto industry is now patiently awaiting Biden’s decision as the June 3 deadline looms.