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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9579 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9579

 To establish the Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 12, 2024

   Mr. Rose introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To establish the Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bridging Regulation and Innovation 
for Digital Global and Electronic Digital Assets Act'' or the ``BRIDGE 
Digital Assets Act''.

SEC. 2. CFTC-SEC JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON DIGITAL ASSETS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and 
the Securities and Exchange Commission (in this section referred to as 
the ``Commissions'') shall jointly establish the Joint Advisory 
Committee on Digital Assets (in this section referred to as the 
``Committee'').
    (b) Purpose.--
            (1) In general.--The Committee shall--
                    (A) provide the Commissions with advice on the 
                rules, regulations, and policies of the Commissions 
                related to digital assets;
                    (B) further the regulatory harmonization of digital 
                asset policy between the Commissions;
                    (C) examine and disseminate methods for describing, 
                measuring, and quantifying digital asset--
                            (i) decentralization;
                            (ii) functionality;
                            (iii) information asymmetries; and
                            (iv) transaction and network security; and
                    (D) examine the potential for digital assets, 
                blockchain systems, and distributed ledger technology 
                to improve efficiency in the operation of financial 
                market infrastructure and better protect financial 
                market participants, including services and systems 
                which provide--
                            (i) improved customer protections;
                            (ii) public availability of information;
                            (iii) greater transparency regarding 
                        customer funds;
                            (iv) reduced transaction cost; and
                            (v) increased access to financial market 
                        services.
            (2) Review by agencies.--Each Commission shall--
                    (A) review the findings and recommendations of the 
                Committee;
                    (B) promptly issue a public statement each time the 
                Committee submits a finding or recommendation to a 
                Commission--
                            (i) assessing the finding or recommendation 
                        of the Committee;
                            (ii) disclosing the action or decision not 
                        to take action made by the Commission in 
                        response to a finding or recommendation; and
                            (iii) explaining the reasons for the action 
                        or decision not to take action; and
                    (C) each time the Committee submits a finding or 
                recommendation to a Commission, provide the Committee 
                with a formal response to the finding or recommendation 
                not later than 3 months after the date of the 
                submission of the finding or recommendation.
    (c) Membership and Leadership.--
            (1) Non-federal members.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commissions shall appoint at 
                least 20 nongovernmental stakeholders who represent a 
                broad spectrum of interests, equally divided between 
                the Commissions, to serve as members of the Committee. 
                The appointees shall include--
                            (i) digital asset issuers;
                            (ii) persons registered with the 
                        Commissions and engaged in digital asset 
                        related activities;
                            (iii) individuals engaged in academic 
                        research relating to digital assets; and
                            (iv) digital asset users.
                    (B) Members not commission employees.--Members 
                appointed under subparagraph (A) shall not be deemed to 
                be employees or agents of a Commission solely by reason 
                of membership on the Committee.
            (2) Co-designated federal officers.--Notwithstanding 
        section 1009 of title 5, United States Code, the Committee 
        shall have two designated Federal officers or employees, as 
        described under such section, with each Commission designating 
        one officer or employee of the Commission to serve as a 
        designated Federal officer or employee, from among individuals 
        who possess an understanding of digital assets, blockchain 
        systems, and financial technology.
            (3) Committee leadership.--
                    (A) Composition; election.--The Committee members 
                shall elect, from among the Committee members--
                            (i) a chair;
                            (ii) a vice chair;
                            (iii) a secretary; and
                            (iv) an assistant secretary.
                    (B) Term of office.--Each member elected under 
                subparagraph (A) in a 2-year period referred to in 
                section 1013(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, 
                shall serve in the capacity for which the member was so 
                elected, until the end of the 2-year period.
    (d) No Compensation for Committee Members.--All Committee members 
shall--
            (1) serve without compensation; and
            (2) while away from the home or regular place of business 
        of the member in the performance of services for the Committee, 
        be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed 
        intermittently in the Government service are allowed expenses 
        under section 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code.
    (e) Frequency of Meetings.--The Committee shall meet--
            (1) not less frequently than twice annually; and
            (2) at such other times as either Commission may request.
    (f) Duration.--Section 1013(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, 
shall not apply to the Committee.
    (g) Time Limits.--The Commissions shall--
            (1) adopt a joint charter for the Committee within 90 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this section;
            (2) appoint members to the Committee within 120 days after 
        such date of enactment; and
            (3) hold the initial meeting of the Committee within 180 
        days after such date of enactment.
    (h) Funding.--The Commissions shall jointly fund the Committee.
    (i) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Blockchain.--The term ``blockchain'' means any 
        technology--
                    (A) where data is--
                            (i) shared across a network to create a 
                        public ledger of verified transactions or 
                        information among network participants;
                            (ii) linked using cryptography to maintain 
                        the integrity of the public ledger and to 
                        execute other functions; and
                            (iii) distributed among network 
                        participants in an automated fashion to 
                        concurrently update network participants on the 
                        state of the public ledger and any other 
                        functions; and
                    (B) composed of source code that is publicly 
                available.
            (2) Digital asset.--The term ``digital asset'' means any 
        fungible digital representation of value that can be 
        exclusively possessed and transferred, person to person, 
        without necessary reliance on an intermediary, and is recorded 
        on a cryptographically secured public distributed ledger.
            (3) Digital asset issuer.--With respect to a digital asset, 
        the term ``digital asset issuer'' means any person that, in 
        exchange for any consideration--
                    (A) issues or causes to be issued a unit of such 
                digital asset to a person; or
                    (B) offers or sells a right to a future issuance of 
                a unit of such digital asset to a person.
                                 <all>
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