CLARITY Act omitted from U.S. Senate voting schedule

The CLARITY Act was not included in the U.S. Senate’s voting schedule released on Aug. 3, lowering the chances that Senate leaders will bring the bill to the floor before the chamber’s recess scheduled for Aug. 10, according to CryptoSlate. The U.S. Senate is set to convene at 7:00 p.m. UTC today, but will only hold a cloture vote related to H.R.6500 rather than take up the CLARITY Act, the report said. Under Senate procedure, the CLARITY Act would still need to go through the scheduling process from a cloture petition to a vote, although lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties could shorten the timeline by petitioning to accelerate the process or reaching unanimous consent. Still, prospects for passage remain unclear as seven Democratic senators seen as potential negotiating partners are calling for further talks, saying the publicly released CLARITY Act draft is insufficient. The bill needs 60 votes to pass, meaning Republicans would need support from at least seven Democrats if all Republican senators vote in favor.