The U.S. House has cancelled the session that had been scheduled for late September, increasing the likelihood that action on the Clarity Act, a crypto market structure bill, will be pushed back until after the midterm elections.

On Sept. 3, foreign media including blockchain outlet U.Today reported that House Republicans cancelled the final two weeks of the September session. The House is set to return to Washington on Sept. 14 and sit for only about one week.

The schedule change is expected to directly burden the Clarity Act timeline. The Senate also returns from its summer recess on Sept. 14 and is set to hold the first procedural vote on the Clarity Act on Sept. 15. Even if the Senate passes the bill, the legislative process does not end. If the Senate advances an amended version, the House must pass the Senate version again, after which it would become law following a presidential signature.

Punchbowl News senior reporter Brendan Pedersen (브렌던 페더슨) called the situation "potentially very bad news" for the crypto industry on X, formerly Twitter. He said the shortened House schedule could push a Clarity Act vote into a so-called lame-duck session after the election. In that case, prospects for passage could become even more uncertain, intertwined with the possibility of changes in the makeup of Congress.

Galaxy Digital head of firmwide research Alex Thorn (알렉스 손) made a similar assessment. He said the chance of the Clarity Act passing before the midterm elections is "extremely low" given the reduced September House session.

Even looking only at the congressional calendar, there is not much time. The Senate has secured about three weeks of legislative time from Sept. 15 to the first week of October. But the House has sharply reduced its session, leaving almost no time for the two chambers to move the bill sequentially. House Republican leaders and members also face growing pressure to focus on district campaigning ahead of the midterm elections. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (마이크 존슨) and Republican members cancelled the final two weeks of September to reflect those circumstances, and the House is expected to begin a long recess until the election.

If action is delayed until after the election, the bill’s outlook could become even more uncertain. That is because the balance of power in Congress could change depending on the midterm results. The crypto industry now must factor in not only the delay itself but also possible post-election shifts in the congressional landscape.

The Clarity Act has already cleared the House once. The House passed its bill on July 17, 2025 by 294 to 134. All Republican lawmakers voted in favor, and 78 Democratic lawmakers also backed it, confirming bipartisan support. But the Senate did not take up the House-passed version as is and instead prepared its own amended version, complicating the legislative path.

The Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee have each reviewed separate approaches and amendments. For the Senate to move to full consideration, it must clear a procedural hurdle that requires 60 votes. Even if it passes the Senate, a process remains to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions. Against that backdrop, the shortened House session has emerged as a factor that could delay the overall timetable for the Clarity Act, beyond a simple scheduling adjustment.

Market attention has narrowed to two points. One is whether the Senate can actually hold the first procedural vote scheduled for the 15th. The other is whether, after the Senate acts, the House can take up the Senate version within its shortened remaining session before the election. If the two chambers fail to quickly resolve differences in bill language, the Clarity Act could again face uncertainty amid a post-election shift in the congressional landscape.