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S. 1582 · 119th Congress

GENIUS Act

Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN] (R-TN) · Introduced · 5 cosponsors

Public Law 119-27Finance and Financial Sector
Progress
100%
1
Introduced
A bill is formally introduced by a lawmaker; it is assigned an ID and sent to committee.
2
Committee
A smaller group of lawmakers reviews, debates, and edits the bill before it can advance.
3
Reported
After committee work, the committee releases a report and the bill can go to the full chamber for a vote.
4
Senate Vote
The bill has passed the full Senate.
5
House Vote
The bill has passed the full House of Representatives.
6
Passed Congress
Both the House and Senate have passed the bill; it moves to the President for final approval.
7
Sent to President
The bill has been sent to the President, who may sign it, veto it, or let a ten-day clock decide.
8
Became Law
The bill is now law — by the President's signature, by the ten-day rule when the President declines to sign, or by a two-thirds veto override.

Latest action

Became Public Law No: 119-27.

· from Congress.gov, as of August 8, 2026

Committees

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

What this stage means

The bill is now law — by the President's signature, by the ten-day rule when the President declines to sign, or by a two-thirds veto override.

Why this matters

There are three constitutional paths to enactment, and only one of them requires the President's approval.

What can happen next

Executive agencies write regulations to implement it; courts may review challenges to it.

Study this bill

AP Gov
Unit 2 · Interactions Among Branches of GovernmentUnit 4 · American Political Ideologies and Beliefs

The constitutional question

When private companies issue dollar-pegged digital currency used for payments, is that banking (federal/state charters, reserve rules), securities issuance, or something new — and does the Article I coinage-and-commerce framework let Congress build a bespoke regime with both federal and state charter paths?

The strongest case for

Stablecoins already move trillions of dollars a year with no federal rulebook: no reserve requirements, no redemption rights, no examiner ever inspecting whether the 'dollar-backed' claim is true — TerraUSD's collapse erased tens of billions and cost ordinary holders everything. The act requires one-to-one reserves in cash and Treasuries, monthly attestations, and redemption at par, which is simply making the industry's own marketing legally enforceable. A regulated dollar stablecoin also extends dollar dominance into digital payments before rival currencies or unregulated offshore issuers fill the space. Regulation here is not endorsement; it is seatbelts for a car already on the road.

The strongest case against

The act charters a parallel banking system with the deposit-like liabilities of banks and none of the obligations that make banks safe: no FDIC insurance, no community-reinvestment duties, and a run dynamic regulators cannot stop because redemption happens on-chain at internet speed. One-to-one Treasury reserves sound safe until a large issuer's fire-sale of Treasuries in a panic transmits crypto stress straight into the government-debt market. The dual federal-state charter path invites a race to the friendliest regulator. And Congress passing an industry-negotiated framework while the sector was a top-tier campaign donor is precisely the interest-group capture story Federalist No. 10 warned about.

Foundational documents in play

  • U.S. Constitution

    Article I's coinage and commerce powers are the constitutional roots of federal authority over private dollar-pegged currency.

  • Core Principles from The Wealth of Nations

    Stablecoin regulation is Smith's problem in modern dress: what minimum structure (reserves, redemption rights) does trust in a market instrument require?

Required cases in play

  • McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

    McCulloch blessed federal architecture for money and banking beyond the enumerated text — the direct ancestor of chartering stablecoin issuers.

Organizations supporting

Organizations opposing

This has happened before

The Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act was reported out of House committee in 2023 (118th Congress) and never received a floor vote. GENIUS inverted the strategy — Senate first, bipartisan negotiation before introduction — and became the first major crypto statute in U.S. history. Compare McCulloch: each era's novel money (a national bank in 1819, tokenized dollars in 2025) forces the same constitutional question about federal financial architecture.

Practice FRQ

SCOTUS Comparison. The GENIUS Act creates federal charters for companies issuing dollar-backed digital currency. (A) Identify the constitutional power common to the GENIUS Act and McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). (B) Explain how the reasoning in McCulloch supports Congress's authority to charter stablecoin issuers even though digital currency is not mentioned in the Constitution. (C) Describe one way a state could challenge or complicate this federal framework, and how McCulloch bears on that challenge.

Sources: www.congress.gov

Action history

Every recorded action from Congress.gov — 49 total.

  1. Signed by President.

  2. Signed by President.

  3. Became Public Law No: 119-27.

  4. Became Public Law No: 119-27.

  5. House

    Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 580. (consideration: CR H3405-3427)

  6. House

    Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4016, H.R. 3633, H.R. 1919 and S. 1582. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4016 and H.R. 3633 under a structured rule, and H.R. 1919 and S. 1582 under a closed rule, with one hour of general debate on each bill. The resolution provides for a motion to recommit on H.R. 4016, H.R. 3633, and H.R. 1919, and a motion to commit on S. 1582.

  7. House

    DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on S. 1582.

  8. House

    The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.

  9. House

    POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on S. 1582, the Chair put the question on passage of the bill and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Ms. Waters demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.

  10. House

    Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3449-3450)

  11. House

    Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 308 - 122 (Roll no. 200).

  12. House

    On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 308 - 122 (Roll no. 200). (text: CR H3405-3418)

  13. House

    Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  14. Presented to President.

  15. House

    Presented to President.

  16. House

    Rule H. Res. 580 passed House.

  17. House

    Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 580 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4016, H.R. 3633, H.R. 1919 and S. 1582. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4016 and H.R. 3633 under a structured rule, and H.R. 1919 and S. 1582 under a closed rule, with one hour of general debate on each bill. The resolution provides for a motion to recommit on H.R. 4016, H.R. 3633, and H.R. 1919, and a motion to commit on S. 1582.

  18. Senate

    Message on Senate action sent to the House.

  19. House

    Received in the House.

  20. House

    Held at the desk.

  21. Senate

    Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S3418-3432)

  22. Senate

    Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 68 - 30. Record Vote Number: 318.

  23. Senate

    Passed Senate with an amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 68 - 30. Record Vote Number: 318. (text: CR S3419-3432)

  24. Senate

    Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S3366-3367)

  25. Senate

    Cloture on the bill, as amended invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 67 - 27. Record Vote Number: 312.

  26. Senate

    Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S3335-3336)

  27. Senate

    Motion by Senator Thune to commit to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs with instructions to report back forthwith with the following amendment (SA 2312) fell when cloture was invoked on amendment SA 2307 in Senate.

  28. Senate

    Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S3275-3277)

  29. Senate

    Cloture motion on the bill presented in Senate. (CR S3276)

  30. Senate

    Motion by Senator Thune to commit to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs with instructions to report back forthwith with the following amendment (SA 2312) made in Senate.

  31. Senate

    Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S3155-3156)

  32. Senate

    Motion to proceed to measure considered in Senate. (CR S3017)

  33. Senate

    Motion to proceed to consideration of measure agreed to in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 69 - 31. Record Vote Number: 263.

  34. Senate

    Measure laid before Senate by motion. (consideration: CR S3025)

  35. Senate

    Motion to proceed to measure considered in Senate. (CR S2983)

  36. Senate

    Second cloture motion on the motion to proceed invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 66 - 32. Record Vote Number: 262. (CR S2965)

  37. Senate

    Cloture motion on the motion to proceed rendered moot in Senate.

  38. Senate

    Motion by Senator Thune to reconsider the vote by which cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure was not invoked (Record Vote No. 240) rendered moot in Senate.

  39. Senate

    Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate.

  40. Senate

    Second cloture motion on the motion to proceed presented in Senate. (CR S2947)

  41. Senate

    Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S2847)

  42. Senate

    Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S2814)

  43. Senate

    Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 48 - 49. Record Vote Number: 240. (CR S2823)

  44. Senate

    Motion by Senator Thune to reconsider the vote by which cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure was not invoked (Record Vote No. 240) made in Senate.

  45. Senate

    Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S2772)

  46. Senate

    Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S2772)

  47. Senate

    Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 66.

  48. Senate

    Introduced in Senate

  49. Senate

    Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.