Biden Administration

Twenty-one centrist Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about the provision, which banks have fought to keep out of the social policy package. Meanwhile, the White House made no explicit mention of it in a draft summary of the bill.

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a swing Democratic vote in deliberations over President Biden's social spending bill, signaled opposition to requiring financial institutions to report customer account information to help catch tax evaders. The measure "is going to be gone," he predicted.

In their first direct appeal to President Biden, financial institutions and other industries' trade lobbies called on the administration to abandon its proposal that would give the Internal Revenue Service new information on customer accounts.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council's guidelines for regulators avoided measures that banks feared such as fossil fuel loan limits and rigid new stress tests. But the panel is recommending rules that would require financial institutions to disclose their exposure to global warming.

Democrats proposed raising the account threshold and exempting certain transactions from a measure enlisting financial institutions’ help in catching tax cheats. But opponents say the changes are insufficient and centrist lawmakers — whose support is crucial to enact the plan — were mum.

Banks and other stakeholders are trying to stop a proposal requiring financial institutions to submit more account data, but the Biden administration says opponents of the measure are spreading the false notion that it would reveal information about specific transactions.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, the top GOP member on the Financial Services Committee, said lawmakers should take the lead in developing a policy framework for stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies. He criticized Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler for suggesting the agency already has authority to act.

The Federal Reserve chairman told lawmakers that the central bank wouldn't try to block other cryptocurrency providers if it decides to issue a digital dollar. At the same hearing, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen continued to defend a proposal requiring banks to report customer account information to the IRS.

Criticism from banking and other business groups of Saule Omarova’s candidacy could make it difficult for moderate Democrats to support President Biden's pick to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Requiring financial firms to report customer account data to the IRS as a means of catching tax cheats would be intrusive and costly, industry officials say. Backers of the measure say those claims are exaggerated.