Due to a heavy winter storm in Washington D.C., the senators have postponed the first markup vote on inclusive digital asset market structure legislation. The Senate Agriculture Committee verified on January 26 that it had delayed its scheduled Tuesday markup of the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act due to wild weather conditions over the capital.
The committee staff quoted unsafe travel conditions, highlighting that the major portion of Washington is covered by snow and ice and the temperature is also dangerously low because of a major winter storm.
The weekend concluded with an arctic cold snap and heavy snowfall, having wind chills going below zero, and during the day, temperatures struggled to hover around the mid-20s Fahrenheit.
The Harsh Effect Of Winter
The factors like snowy sidewalks, icy roads and the high winds resulted in the closure of federal offices yesterday, and a snow emergency was declared in the city, which restricted the movement of vehicles on major routes.
People also faced troubles in air travel, having thousands of flights being cancelled over the country and prominent delays at Reagan National Airport as airlines and airports cleared backlogs.
Schools and universities were also either shut or went for remote education, and legislators also banned mobility as crews moved forward with snow removal. The weather change put a new obstacle in the way of a long legislative process that has so far witnessed a series of delays.
The Agriculture Committee markup is given close attention, as it is the first occasion that the Senate officially votes on and revises a crypto market structure bill. The panel looks after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the legislation would widen the authority of the agency across digital commodities like Bitcoin.
The bill is followed by a lot of negotiations done by Committee Chair John Boozman, with contributions from Senator Cory Booker; however, bipartisan agreement has proven challenging.
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