Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota reintroduced legislation on Tuesday to prevent unelected officials from moving forward with a central bank digital currency.
Joined by 50 original cosponsors, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act would bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital currency directly or indirectly to individuals and would prohibit the Fed “from using any CBDC to implement monetary policy, ensuring the Federal Reserve cannot use a CBDC as a tool to control the American economy.”
Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, a CBDC is a digital form of sovereign currency that is designed and issued by a government and transacts on a digital ledger that is controlled by that government. In short, a CBDC is government-controlled programmable money that, if not designed to emulate cash, could give the federal government the ability to surveil Americans' transactions and choke out politically unpopular activity. (Emmer)
“The administration has made it clear: President Biden is willing to compromise the American people’s right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style CBDC. That’s why I’m reintroducing my landmark legislation to put a check on unelected bureaucrats and ensure the United States’ digital currency policy upholds our values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free-market competitiveness,” Emmer said in a statement.
“If not designed to be open, permissionless, and private – emulating cash – a government-issued CBDC is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that would be used to undermine the American way of life,” he added.
JUST IN: Rep. Tom Emmer introduces a bill to ban the Federal Reserve from creating a Central Bank Digital Currency.
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) September 13, 2023
"A CBDC is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that can be weaponized to oppress the American way of life." pic.twitter.com/J7mNDhK9KP
