The CLARITY Act faces a 60-vote Senate procedural test Sept. 15 as state attorneys general and policy advocates press lawmakers to reject the crypto market structure bill.
Key Points:
- The CLARITY Act needs 60 Senate votes to clear the procedural hurdle.
- A bipartisan group of 18 attorneys general is urging Congress to reject the bill.
- PPI says the latest changes still leave gaps in money laundering and ethics safeguards.
CLARITY Act Vote
The Senate vote will determine whether the legislation can move past a key procedural hurdle, with Republicans needing Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold. A successful vote would advance the measure to further Senate action, not send it directly to the president.
Republicans revised the bill ahead of the vote, adding stronger ethics rules, state attorney general enforcement powers and a temporary mechanism addressing concerns about stablecoin competition with bank deposits. The changes improved its prospects, but they did not end the opposition.
Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, led a bipartisan coalition of 17 other attorneys general in opposing the bill on Sept. 14. “As written, the Clarity Act would embolden scammers and potentially strip attorneys general of our authority to protect our states’ investors and their wallets,” James said. “Together with my attorney general colleagues, I urge Congress not to pass the Clarity Act.”
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PPI Opposition
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) also urged senators to vote against the legislation, arguing that the latest Republican amendments did not resolve concerns over money laundering, ethics and stablecoin-related risks. Paul Weinstein Jr., a senior fellow at PPI, said the bill still lacked safeguards needed to address illicit activity and corruption.
“PPI encourages senators to vote against the CLARITY Act as currently constructed, and work to develop legislation that would actually provide the safeguards needed to create a robust stablecoin sector,” the group said.
PPI separately said the bill “still falls short of providing robust money-laundering and ethics safeguards” needed to address illicit activity and corruption. That criticism matters because Republicans need Democratic votes to clear the 60-vote procedural threshold.
If the bill reaches 60 votes, it would proceed to further Senate consideration before any final passage. Failure would create another delay rather than automatically kill the measure, leaving lawmakers to decide whether more revisions could produce a viable bipartisan path.
The CLARITY Act has faced repeated delays since the House passed H.R. 3633 by 294-134 on Jul. 17, 2025. The Senate version has since changed substantially, so lawmakers would still need to resolve differences between the chambers before the legislation could reach the president.
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