Who?
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
LISTEN: Laslo & Gillibrand
Ask a Pol asks:
What’s the reason your [Gillibrand-Lummis] stablecoin bill was rejected as a part of the FAA reauthorization?
Key Gillibrand:
“We were hoping to have it be added but there was considerable back-and-forth concerning the SAFE Banking Act, and I think Sen. McConnell does not want the SAFE Banking Act,” Gillibrand told Ask a Pol at the Capitol this week. “But I don’t know more than that. That’s just what I’ve heard.”
Should clemency be a part of SAFER?
“I didn't know that was being debated. Is that the challenge with it?” Gillibrand told us. “But I think it's an important part of the bill.”
ICYMI
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), slightly edited for clarity.
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TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
SCENE: In the midst of FAA reauthorization negotiations — a measure that passed the Senate Thursday — Sen. Gillibrand stops to talk to a small gaggle of reporters just outside the Senate floor.
Kirsten Gillibrand: “I’m not.”
Reporter #1: “Do you think it’s unlikely?”
KG: “I don’t know.”
Matt Laslo: “Because if you add that everyone else wants to add their things?”
KG: “Well, we were hoping to have it be added but there was considerable back-and-forth concerning the SAFE Banking Act, and I think Sen. McConnell does not want the SAFE Banking Act.”
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ML: “Yeah?”
Reporter #2: “Correct, correct.”
KG: “But I don’t know more than that. That’s just what I’ve heard.”
Reporter #2: “Was it your expectation that if it did get in there, it would be the McHenry-Waters [House stablecoin bill], unreleased McHenry-Waters?”
KG: “I have no understanding either way. The reason why we put our draft out when we did was to encourage the conversation, to find if there was common ground and perhaps a conference-able bill between House and Senate.”
Reporter #2: “What have you made of some of the reactions to the bill that you put out?”
KG: “The whole point of putting it out was to get reactions, to get feedback, comments from stakeholders, from regulators, from other informed people and to make the bill better.”
ML: “And you support SAFER [Banking Act]. Would you like to see the two combined?”
KG: “I would love it. I support SAFER. I also wanna have an amendment to SAFER someday to also increase access to the markets so they can get access to the stock exchanges. So I'm definitely open to all the bills that have been discussed to be part of the FAA [reauthorization}.”
ML: “And what about clemency as a part of that? Because that's where SAFER seems to get larded up itself.”
KG: “I didn't know that was being debated. Is that the challenge with it?”
ML: “That's the leverage.”
KG: “I hadn't heard that. But I think it's an important part of the bill.”
ML: “Yeah? Preciate you.”
KG: “Thank you.”
Reporter #2: “Appreciate it.”
KG: “Thanks, guys.”
Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps.
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Gillibrand: stablecoin bill shelved b/c "McConnell does not want the SAFE Banking Act”