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Senator Ted Cruz (R, TX) proposed legislation to adopt cryptocurrencies in Congress as a means of payment for transactions, also known as the ACCEPT act. If passed, the clerk of the Senate and the chief administrative officer of the House of Representatives would be required to contact food vendors and vending machines. The legislation also calls for the congressional gift store to accept cryptocurrencies.
Cruz explained that the bill comes with the purpose of increasing the visibility of cryptocurrencies among members of Congress, “As consumers better understand and embrace cryptocurrency, merchants are increasingly accepting crypto as a payment method. Congress is typically slow to adopt new technology.”
“My bill would position Congress to lead on this issue by having congressional cafeterias, vending machines, and gift shops accept crypto payments,” added Senator Cruz.
Cruz has been among the most supportive senators of Bitcoin implementation in Congress, opposing legislation from both Democrats and Republicans for more harshly regulating cryptocurrencies.
In the past, Cruz fervently opposed the implementation of a requirement forcing cryptocurrency brokers to disclose crypto transaction information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which would be included in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan. The proposal would potentially extract up to $30 billion of cryptocurrency traders’ income that would go into the hands of the IRS.
“Let’s recognize that if we gathered all 100 senators in this chamber and asked them to stand up and articulate two sentences defining what in the hell a cryptocurrency is, that you would not get greater than five who could answer that question,” Cruz said in a speech he gave to the Senate last August.
Economist, writer and liberal. With a focus on finance, the war on drugs, history, and geopolitics // Economista, escritor y liberal. Con enfoque en finanzas, guerra contra las drogas, historia y geopolítica