Majority House Whip Rep. Tom Emmer announced Wednesday that he is reintroducing a bill that would ban the Federal Reserve from creating a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
If not open, permissionless, and private – like cash – a CBDC is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that can be weaponized to oppress the American way of life.
We’re not going to let that happen – not on House Republicans’ watch. pic.twitter.com/XVq6ySu0Xc
— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) September 13, 2023
Emmer initially introduced the Central Bank Digital Currency Anti-Surveillance State Act in February. He reintroduced the bill ahead of a Thursday hearing in front of the House Financial Services Committee.
“Recent actions from the Biden administration have made it clear that they are not only itching to create a digital dollar, but they’re willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style CBDC,” Emmer said.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2022 to explore the possibility of minting a CBDC.
“Last fall, Biden signed an executive order for the exploration of implementing a CBDC in the United States, and the Federal Reserve has been conducting pilot programs and studies to assess the viability of a CBDC,” Republican Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles told the Daily Caller in July while introducing his own anti-CBDC bill in July.
“The federal government’s dangerous experimentation with greater control over Americans should alarm us all – China has implemented a CBDC and that should tell folks all they need to know about it,” Ogles said. (RELATED: ‘Massive Threat’: DeSantis Says Centralized Digital Currencies Open Door To ‘Social Credit System’)
“This bill ensures the future of crypto is in the hands of the American people, not the administrative state, by prohibiting the Federal Reserve from creating a tool with unfettered insight into Americans’ financial data. If not open, permissionless and private, like cash, a CBDC is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that can be weaponized to oppress the American way of life,” Emmer said.