(CNN) — Facebook is trying again to sell lawmakers on Libra Wednesday during a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
But as the hearing began, it became clear that wouldn’t be an easy task. In her opening statement, Chairwoman Maxine Waters again asked Facebook to halt Libra’s development until regulators can take action, and introduced draft legislation aimed at banning Libra altogether.
“I have serious concerns with Facebook’s plans,” said Waters, adding that “if Facebook’s plans come to fruition, the company and its partners will wield immense economic power that could destabilize currencies and governments.”
Facebook executive David Marcus, who heads Libra, is representing the company at the hearing. It’s the second day of testimony for Marcus, who spoke before the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday. That turned out to be a tense discussion on Facebook’s fitness to run a universal currency, and an airing of Committee members’ distrust of Facebook.
Wednesday’s hearing will also include a panel of experts on fintech and consumers who will discuss the potential implications of Libra.
Members of the House Committee have questioned Marcus about their wide-ranging concerns about Libra, including investor protections, national security and monetary policy implications.
Marcus, asked by several House Committee members whether he would agree to the moratorium on Libra’s development, didn’t give a direct answer.
“We are fully committed to working with regulators here and around the world,” Marcus said. “Facebook will not offer the Libra digital currency until we have fully addressed regulator’s concerns and received the proper approvals.”
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to CNN Business this week that Marcus’ comment means that Facebook will not offer ways for users to access Libra, such as its Calibra wallet, though Libra may still launch.
Marcus has stressed that getting behind the project doesn’t necessarily require trusting Facebook, because the currency will be managed by a consortium of companies and nonprofits of which Facebook is only one of 28 members. He also repeated the company’s desire to work with regulators on Libra.
“We expect the review of Libra to be among the most extensive ever,” Marcus said.
Brad Sherman, the Democrat from California, called on Mark Zuckerberg to appear before the Committee himself.
“We need to get Mark Zuckerberg here,” Sherman said. “This is the biggest thing, or it tries to be the biggest thing this committee will deal with this decade. And while we have his employee here, this is Zuckerberg’s program.”
Compared to Tuesday’s Senate Banking hearing, where lawmakers from both parties seemed mostly united in distrust of Facebook, the House hearing brought some more partisan discord.
In his opening statement, ranking member Patrick McHenry stressed the importance of making sure Washington is “not the place where innovation goes to die.”
“Republicans stand ready to work with innovators to successfully implement responsible technology here in the United States, here domestically, before we lose out to other parts of the world,” McHenry said.
Waters attempted to clarify: “We are all in favor of innovation, it’s not one side of the aisle versus the other. Despite the fact that we all support innovation … we need to get on top of something as massive and important as this project.”
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.