Lawmaker Tom Emmer Slams US Treasury Department Following Crypto Crackdown Proposal, Says It Wants ''Surveillance State''

Lawmaker Tom Emmer Slams US Treasury Department Following Crypto Crackdown Proposal, Says It Wants ”Surveillance State”

Updated: 01 December 2023

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House Financial Services Committee member Tom Emmer slammed the US Treasury Department for its latest request for more power to crack down on the crypto industry and said it wants a ”surveillance state.”

“Beware of the self-proclaimed savior that rides in on a white horse and tells you I’m here to protect you,” said Emmer, speaking at the Blockchain Association Policy Summit. ”They want to swallow this all up into the surveillance security state that they’ve created. We just can’t let it happen. This is Congress’s purview not his,”

Tom Emmer Wants Treasury to Identify the Root Problem

Earlier this week, the Treasury Department sent recommendations to lawmakers that include a proposal for new sanctions tools that would bolster its authority over bad crypto actors, including dollar-based stablecoins.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said that he was growing “increasingly concerned about things like dollar-based stablecoins that aren’t based here in the United States, but give people the privilege and the ability to use the dollar outside of our jurisdiction.”

In response to Adeyemo’s recommendations, Emmer raised objections and said he still awaits the Treasury’s response to a letter that he and other lawmakers sent two weeks ago. In the letter, the Treasury was asked how crypto played a role in the financing of militant group Hamas.

A member of the Senate Banking Committee, Cynthia Lummis, opted for a more measured approach to Treasury’s recommendations. When asked in a panel discussion about the proposal, she replied, “I’m going to be looking specifically about what they recommend with regard to mixers and tumblers to see if that’s an area where we can sit down with Treasury.”

The Fight Between Crypto Regulation and Crypto Innovation

This is not the first time pro-crypto Congressmen Emmer has pushed back against regulatory action against the industry. On Nov. 8, he also attached an amendment to the federal budget that aimed to cut the Securities and Exchange Commission’s budget for crypto enforcement.

Critics like Emmer say the SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement strategy against the crypto industry is stifling innovation and forcing major crypto firms to move offshore. The aggressive approach to has led to growing pressure for the SEC to change its tactics.

Still, other analysts say the crackdown was long overdue and needed to clean up crypto’s act, and to put the industry on a stronger foundation for future growth.