Republican senator expects passage of infrastructure bill soon, crypto rules need clarification

U.S. Sen. Bob Portman (R-Ohio) said Monday that Senate passage of a $1T bipartisan infrastructure bill was "right around the corner," though some rules included in the legislation related to cryptocurrency "need clarification." Speaking to CNBC, Portman expressed support for the bipartisan bill but said he would oppose the Democrat-backed human infrastructure bill, which the Ohio senator called a "$3.5T tax-and-spend extravaganza." Portman also called on Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own, arguing that their measures had increased government borrowing and made the move necessary. The Ohio senator's comments on the debt ceiling followed remarks earlier in the day by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who pleaded for Congress to take bipartisan action to increase the federal government's borrowing limit. On cryptocurrency, Portman contended that there is broad support for rules that require "proper information reporting" in the sector, charging brokers with providing additional data to customers.