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The U.S. Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act (S. 1582) Tuesday by a 68-30 vote, advancing landmark stablecoin legislation while excluding two controversial amendments opposed by the credit union and community banking industries.
The Senate rejected efforts by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to attach his so-called “Big Box Bailout” bill, which would have imposed new credit card interchange mandates, and by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10%. Neither amendment was included in the final legislation.
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“America's Credit Unions thanks the U.S. Senate for passing a clean GENIUS Act,” America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle said. “Keeping poison pill amendments out of the bill protects consumers, small businesses and financial institutions. Credit unions are here to strengthen Main Street, and we appreciate that senators said 'no' to Senators Marshall’s and Hawley’s unrelated and unproductive amendments that did not go through proper consideration in the standard legislative process.”
Nussle also urged the House to pass the companion STABLE Act without amendments, saying it would give consumers secure access to digital currency and credit unions the ability to serve members using new tools.
Community banks also welcomed the Senate’s approach. “ICBA appreciates the work by the Senate to address concerns raised by ICBA … while protecting against the negative economic consequences that would result from community bank disintermediation,” Rebeca Romero Rainey, president/CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), said. ICBA emphasized the importance of preserving the community bank role in local lending and economic development.
With the Senate’s approval, attention now shifts to the House, where the STABLE Act awaits consideration. Industry stakeholders are calling for continued bipartisan cooperation to establish clear, innovation-friendly stablecoin regulation without disrupting the broader financial ecosystem.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
