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"We are avoiding default tonight," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday as he steered the legislation through his 100-member chamber. "In the coming months, Senate Republicans will continue working to provide for the common defense and control Washington Democrats’ reckless spending," he said in a statement. McConnell was referring to 12 bills Congress will work on over the summer to fund government programs in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, which will also carry out the broad instructions of the debt limit bill. Unlike most other developed countries, the United States limits the amount of debt the government can borrow, regardless of any spending allocated by the legislature. The last time the United States came this close to default was in 2011.

Persons: Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Janet Yellen, Schumer, McCarthy, Yellen, Roger Marshall, Richard Cowan, David Morgan, Moira Warburton, Gram Slattery, Scott Malone, Alistair Bell, Diane Craft, Kieran Murray, William Mallard Organizations: U.S, Senate, Representatives, Republicans, The Treasury Department, Democratic, Republican, Washington Democrats, Social Security, Treasury, Russia, Office, Thomson Locations: United States, America, West Virginia, U.S, Mexico, Ukraine, China, Russia

☆ Ted Cruz accused JD Vance of empowering 'the radical Green Movement' by aligning with Democrats on a bill to prevent rail disasters like the East Palestine crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

JD Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, proposed the Rail Safety Act in March. "All of us were moved by the testimony of the witnesses" from East Palestine, Cruz said. "We cannot undo the psychological, economic, and physical toll of the derailment in East Palestine," Vance noted, but "there will be another East Palestine in this country if we do not pass the Railway Safety Act." "I earnestly hoped that we would reach a bipartisan consensus," Cruz said, but "this bill is overly and needlessly prescriptive." Nonetheless, Cruz doubted the bill would pass the Senate with 60 votes, let alone the House.

☆ Senate Republicans criticise Biden budget amid banking, market strains
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Republicans have refused to raise the nation's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to sharp spending cuts. "We have to use this debt ceiling issue to pry the nation's maxed-out credit card from Joe Biden's hands," Republican Senator Roger Marshall said. Not touching those, or failing to cut defense spending, leaves little chance of addressing the government's budget deficit. Young said the White House looked forward to seeing a Republican budget that suggests the programs are off the table. Republicans are determined to avoid tax hikes and to preserve tax cuts for the wealthy implemented under former President Donald Trump.

☆ Senate confirms Eric Garcetti as U.S. ambassador to India
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sahil Kapur | Frank Thorp V | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate voted 52-42 on Wednesday to confirm former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti to be the next U.S. ambassador to India. The long-delayed Garcetti nomination grew unusually contentious and sparked some last-minute drama. Several Democrats voted against advancing his nomination, but enough Republicans backed Garcetti to give the U.S. its first permanent ambassador to India under President Joe Biden, more than two years into his term. "The United States-India relationship is extremely important, and it's a very good thing we now have an ambassador," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. But a group of Republicans voted yes and helped secure the necessary support, including Sens.

☆ Why Silvergate’s post-FTX financial woes could spell trouble ahead for crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Further, the spillover into a traditional bank and its stock price could fuel regulators' arguments that crypto poses a systemic risk. The big problem in crypto is that to buy bitcoin, you eventually have to interact with the traditional banking system. Silvergate's crypto bet worked for the bank, particularly in bull markets. A big part of Silvergate's crypto banking efforts was the Silvergate Exchange Network, better known as SEN, a platform that institutions used to move money to crypto exchanges. Custodia is a Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution designed to bridge the crypto and traditional banking systems.

Senators have asked giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its U.S. partner Binance.US for information about their regulatory compliance and finances, citing a series of investigations by Reuters and some other media reports, according to a letter released on Wednesday. The collapse of rival crypto exchange FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged with fraud, “underscored the need for real transparency and accountability in the crypto industry," the senators wrote. Binance has previously disputed Reuters’ articles, calling the illicit-fund calculations inaccurate and the descriptions of its compliance controls "outdated." In the letter, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the senators requested Binance and Binance.US provide documents and answers to their questions by March 16. The senators are seeking information about the companies’ balance sheets, U.S.-based users, anti-money laundering policies.

☆ Binance is a 'hotbed of illegal financial activity' and is hiding basic info from customers, US senators say in scathing letter to the world's biggest crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US senators accused the world's largest crypto exchange of being "a hotbed of illegal financial activity." In a scathing letter to Binance, lawmakers requested copies of the company's balance sheets since 2017. A Binance spokesperson said the exchange will help lawmakers understand why it remains "the most trusted platform with users across the globe." The senators asked for a response by March 16 and sought more information about the relationship between Binance.com and Binance.US. Binance also has reportedly faced a slew of legal and regulatory probes from the SEC and the US Justice Department.

☆ Senators press crypto exchange Binance on potentially illegal business practices after FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators asked Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange and once-competitor to bankrupt crypto giant FTX, for detailed information on its business operations amid accusations of illegal practices. A spokesperson for Binance told CNBC that the company looks forward to "correcting the record" about its operations. Binance has become the definitive leader in the digital currency exchange industry since FTX filed for bankruptcy and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, stepped down in November. In their letter, the senators outlined the Justice Department's allegations against Binance, and contended the company has showed a lack of transparency. FTX's collapse, which affected over 1 million investors, highlighted "the need for real transparency and accountability in the crypto industry," the senators wrote.

☆ A growing group of lawmakers think TikTok is 'digital fentanyl' and want to ban it. Many others remain skeptical.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Some members of Congress have begun pushing to ban TikTok in the US. "I'm a little less enthusiastic about an all-out ban of it," said Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. "I'm an incrementalist on a lot of things, and I would be on this as well," said Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on social media and the internet's impact on children. Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, another committee member, said she's most concerned about how social media platforms are impacting kids.

LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. partner of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has confirmed that a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao operated as a market maker on its platform. It did not elaborate on when in 2021 the activity ceased, or comment on Zhao's role at the trading firm. Binance transferred over $400 million from the account at California-based Silvergate Bank to Merit Peak between January and March of 2021, Reuters reported on Thursday. Before that story's publication, Binance.US had told Reuters that "Merit Peak is neither trading nor providing any kind of services on the Binance.US platform," without giving further details. A spokesperson for the global Binance exchange, which did not respond to Reuters' questions for the story on Thursday, told crypto news outlet CoinDesk that the transfers were "a Binance.US issue."

☆ Pressure mounts on Biden to publicly address aerial object shoot downs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Al Drago | ReutersWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is coming under mounting pressure from both Democratic and Republicans senators to publicly explain why he ordered three floating objects to be shot down last weekend by American fighter jets. The orders to shoot down the three "unidentified aerial phenomena" over three days came just one week after a massive Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down Feb. 4, after floating across the United States for eight days. The first of the objects shot down this weekend was the size of a small car and floating at 40,000 feet when it was shot down over the Arctic Ocean on Friday. The second one was similar in size and altitude, but it was shot down over the Canadian Yukon on Saturday. The third floating object was slightly smaller and floating at just 20,000 feet when it was taken out over Lake Huron on Sunday.

"The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is," Ryder said. Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas said the spy balloon was over the northeastern part of his state and his staff was is in contact with law enforcement officials. President Biden must protect the sovereignty of the U.S.," Marshall posted on Twitter. Chinese spy satellites carry similar sensors to what U.S. officials believe is on the spy balloon, raising questions about why Beijing would risk such a brazen act on the eve of a major diplomatic event. Still, the Chinese spy balloon has taken a flight path that would carry it over a number of sensitive sites, officials say.

☆ Silvergate pressed by senators after 'evasive' responses on FTX - Bloomberg Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. senators have asked cryptocurrency-focused bank Silvergate Capital Corp (SI.N) if it knew about bankrupt exchange FTX's alleged misuse of customer funds after the lawmakers found the company's earlier responses "evasive", Bloomberg Law reported on Tuesday. The questions were asked in a letter sent to the bank by senators including Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Republicans Roger Marshall and John Kennedy, who questioned Silvergate about its ties to FTX, the report said. They said Silvergate in December had declined to fully answer related questions, citing restrictions on disclosing "confidential supervisory information", the report added. Earlier this month, Silvergate slashed its headcount by 40% and reported a net loss of $1 billion for the fourth quarter. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Silvergate slashes 40% of staff in the wake of a run on the crypto bank that forced it to sell assets at a loss to cover $8.1 billion in withdrawals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Silvergate cut 40% of its staff as the crypto-focused bank reels from FTX's implosion. The collapse of FTX in particular sparked a run that forced the crypto-focused bank to cover $8.1 billion worth of customer withdrawals in late 2022. To meet the spike in withdrawals, Silvergate has had to sell assets at significant losses, liquidating debt the firm was holding on its balance sheet. The firm added that it has $4.6 billion in cash and cash equivalent, which Silvergate says exceeds its deposits. "Silvergate appears to be at the center of the improper transfer of billions in FTX customer funds.

☆ Newly-elected Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach fined $30,000 by FEC for illegal contribution from 'WeBuildTheWall' scam organization
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kris Kobach was fined $30,000 by the Federal Election Commission for accepting an illegal contribution. He was just elected Kansas Attorney General. "We Build The Wall," the group that contributed to Kobach's Senate campaign, has a colorful history of its own. But Bannon now faces similar charges from the New York State Attorney General and was arrested again in September 2022. The incoming state attorney general, who served as Kansas secretary of state from 2011 until 2019, rose to national prominence during the Trump administration for his anti-immigration views and claims of voter fraud.

☆ Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are beating the market this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But Warren Buffett has no reason to be worried. Shares of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) are up about 5.5% in 2022. Berkshire has big stakes in Coca-Cola (KO) and Kraft Heinz (KHC), which are each up around 10% this year. Buffett turns 93 next August while Berkshire vice chair and long-time Buffett confidant Charlie Munger will celebrate his 99th birthday on New Year’s Day. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren has introduced a bill with Republican Sen. Roger Marshall that would crack down on money laundering in the crypto world.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is introducing legislation Wednesday aimed at cracking down on money laundering in cryptocurrency. The Senate Banking Committee, which includes Warren, is holding a hearing Wednesday on the FTX debacle and aftermath. The bill would designate providers of digital asset wallets as money service businesses, bringing them under the authorities of the Bank Secrecy Act, which fights money laundering in the financial system. Further, it would prohibit financial institutions from dealing with services that blend the cryptocurrencies of users together, obscuring their origins. Warren has been an outspoken critic of FTX prior to Bankman-Fried’s indictment.

☆ US senators have unveiled a new bipartisan bill to crack down on crypto money laundering
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US Senators are cracking down on money laundering via cryptocurrency in a new bill on Wednesday. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall proposed the bill titled "Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022." The bill, titled "Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022," could amp up know-your-customer (KYC) requirements in an effort to deter bad actors in the nascent space. If it becomes a law, wallet providers, cryptocurrency miners, validators, and mixers could be classified as money service businesses. Warren, who has been a long-time outspoken critic of digital assets, says that she wants the industry to comply with the same money laundering rules as traditional financial institutions.

☆ Elizabeth Warren unveils bipartisan bill to crack down on crypto money laundering
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —As federal prosecutors seek to imprison former crypto darling Sam Bankman-Fried, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is attempting to push through Congress a bipartisan crackdown on money laundering in the crypto industry. Due to time constraints, the Warren-Marshall crypto legislation has little chance of getting through this Congress. The new bill, called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, would attack money laundering by attempting to bring the digital asset ecosystem into compliance with the existing system of anti-money laundering in the worldwide financial system. The Treasury Department warned earlier this year that ransomware hackers, drug traffickers and fraudsters are using digital assets to launder illicit proceeds. - Cracking down on digital asset ATMs by making sure operators and administrators submit and update the physical addresses of their kiosks.

Lawmakers are generally in agreement that crypto firms should have greater regulation, but there are divergent views on how the industry should be regulated. U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday charged FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried with money laundering and fraud, among other violations. "It is time for Congress to make the crypto industry follow the same money-laundering rules as everyone else," U.S. She and Republican Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas earlier announced legislation aimed at closing money laundering loopholes in the crypto industry. Without U.S. regulation, the value of crypto investments could disappear, said hearing witness and American University law professor Hilary Allen.

☆ Lawmakers Want Answers From Silvergate About FTX Transfers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( David Benoit | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lawmakers are demanding information from Silvergate Capital Corp. about transfers of customer funds between Sam Bankman-Fried ‘s collapsed trading firm, Alameda Research, and his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. In a letter to the bank Monday, Republican Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Roger Marshall of Kansas, along with Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, said an Alameda depository account at Silvergate “appears to be at the center” of the transfer of FTX customer funds to the trading firm. Failure to detect this “scheme,” the senators said, could mean the bank broke anti-money-laundering laws.

☆ Sen. Warren demands answers from Silvergate Bank about its business dealings with FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

“Life as a crypto firm can be divided up into before Silvergate and after Silvergate,” Bankman-Fried gushed in a testimonial featured recently, and prominently, on Silvergate Bank’s website. But in a conversation with an investment manager, a former top FTX employee said Silvergate was FTX’s primary banking partner. As a regulated bank, Silvergate has a duty to monitor clients’ accounts for suspicious activities that could signal fraud, money laundering or tax evasion, the filings note. FTX frequently used the Silvergate Exchange Network, according to the former FTX employee with direct knowledge of the transactions. A Silvergate spokeswoman said the change reflected a shift in functions taken on by a new president at the bank.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoNEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A congressional grilling on cryptocurrency answered a lot of questions, but far more about the ignorance on Capitol Hill than digital currencies. More bizarrely, Roger Marshall, also a Republican, suggested a “pause in this cryptocurrency digital world” while Congress gets its “arms around it,” a process he said could take years. Marshall also referenced central bank digital currencies, but those will fall under the U.S. Federal Reserve’s purview if the central bank approves such a project. Bitcoin has been around for more than a decade, however, and Congress has failed to craft relevant laws to oversee crypto. The hearing was the first of several planned to examine FTX’s bankruptcy, cryptocurrency regulation, and agency jurisdiction over digital assets.

☆ These are the 12 Democrats who voted to end the official COVID-19 emergency Biden has used to extend student-debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate voted to end the government's COVID-19 emergency declaration. The emergency status was a key tool Biden has used to give student-loan borrowers debt relief. The resolution had 36 nays, all from Democratic lawmakers, but 12 Democrats joined Republicans to end the emergency declaration. Along with extending student-debt relief, the government has used the emergency status to extend customs deadlines, along with increasing access to telehealth providers. Here are the 12 Democrats who voted to end the pandemic's emergency declaration:

☆ Biden would veto proposed U.S. Senate resolution to end COVID national emergency -White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 15 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden would veto a proposed U.S. Senate resolution that would terminate a national emergency declared in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House said on Tuesday. Senator Roger Marshall in September called for a vote to end the emergency declaration after Biden told CBS News in an interview that the pandemic was "over." The White House later walked back Biden's comments, saying there had been no change in the administration's COVID-19 policy. Marshall's proposed resolution was put on the Senate calendar in October but has not yet been put to a vote in the Democrat-controlled chamber. Reporting by Eric Beech and Dan Whitcomb; editing by Costas Pitas and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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