The group of 14 lawmakers said: "Digital assets, and their associated mining activities, are essential to the economic future of the United States.
A group of 14 U.S. senators and House representatives signed a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency extolling what they believe is the benefits of cryptocurrency mining.
In a letter thursday, many U.S. lawmakers including pro-Bitcoin Senator Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Tom Emmer sent it to EPA administrator Michael Regan, asking the government agency to analyze the potential impact of cryptocurrency mining in an effort to balance innovation with environmental concerns. The group of 14 senators and representatives claimed the extraction could have a "significant stabilizing effect on the energy grid" and cited examples of gas extraction and renewable energy sources.
"Digital assets, and their associated mining activities, are essential to the economic future of the United States," the letter said. erode future economic interests and limit linkage efficiency. ”
In addition to Lummis and Emmer, the lawmakers who signed the letter were all members of the Republican Party, including Sens. Bill Hagerty, Kevin Cramer and Steve Daines. House Members Patrick McHenry, Pete Sessions, Bill Posey, Bill Huizenga, Andy Barr, Anthony Gonzales, Brian Steil, William Timmons, and Ralph Norman also passed a message to EPA Administrator Regan.
The Republican request for Regan contrasts with an April letter to the EPA from a bipartisan group of 22 lawmakers. They raised "serious concerns" about cryptocurrency companies operating in the United States, claiming that these companies had contributed to greenhouse gas emissions and were not operating under the Clean Air Act or the Clean Water Act.
"Cryptocurrency mining is poisoning our community," the April letter to Regan said. "The rapidly expanding cryptocurrency industry needs to take responsibility to ensure it operates in a sustainable and fair way to protect the community."
In May, the Bitcoin Mining Council responded to the April letter with one of its own, accusing many lawmakers of making claims about the mining as inaccurate. Many environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, later urged government agencies under Biden's stewardship to take new approaches in response to cryptocurrency mining.
