US House to vote next week on overriding President Biden's veto of SAB 121
Quick Take A resolution to overturn Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, also known as SAB 121, was vetoed by President Biden in May. The vote is a constitutional obligation, and political experts are mixed about whether lawmakers have enough votes to override President Biden’s veto.
The U.S. House is set to vote next week on a controversial Securities and Exchange Commission accounting bulletin after getting a veto from U.S. President Joe Biden.
A resolution to overturn Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, also known as SAB 121, was vetoed by President Biden in May. The bulletin has drawn controversy over the past year over concerns in the crypto industry that it could prevent banks from safeguarding digital assets. It requires firms that custody crypto to record customer crypto holdings as liabilities on their balance sheets.
The weekly schedule posted by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the resolution may be considered on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. The vote is a constitutional obligation, so they must vote on SAB 121 again.
The full House voted 228-182 in favor of the measure in May, with mostly Republicans signing on as well as 21 Democrats. A week later, the Senate voted 60 to 38, with several Democrats, including Senate Majority Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., voting in favor of the measure.
However, to overturn the veto, a two-thirds majority from both houses of Congress is required. Alexander Grieve, who handles government affairs at venture capital firm Paradigm, says that may not be impossible.
"Remember when Biden vetoed the SAB121 rollback? It's back on the House floor next week — let's see if the House can rally a ⅔ vote to overturn the veto (steep hill to climb but not impossible given how bipartisan the FIT vote was," Grieve said in a post on X on Friday. FIT21 is a crypto market structure bill that was voted on by the full House 279-136 in May, with 71 Democrats voting in support.
However, others say overriding the veto for SAB 121 will be tough to accomplish.
"I think it’s unlikely to pass given the uphill battle in terms of numbers needed to override the veto," said Cody Carbone, vice president of policy for the Chamber of Digital Commerce, in a statement. The House would need 290 members to support override the veto, which would be about 60 more votes from the 228 who initially voted for it, Carbone added.
"It’ll be very difficult to change 60 member’s minds in the next week," Carbone said. "Although hopeful in the name of consumer protection and good governance, I think it’ll ultimately fail.”
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