Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s Flagship Legislation, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, Passes House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives considered and passed Congressman and Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s flagship legislation, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.

In a vote of 219-210, the House of Representatives passed Emmer’s bill, which prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and codifies President Trump’s Executive Order to forbid federal agencies from exploring their development.

“For years, we have worked to educate our colleagues on the dangers of this insidious technology, which would undermine our values and destroy Americans’ right to privacy. President Trump understands this threat and has already issued an Executive Order preventing the development of a CBDC. Now, we must codify it to ensure that the United States’ digital currency policy remains in the hands of the American people so that any future development of digital cash reflects our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness. We are proud to have led this years-long effort, and thank our colleagues for their support,” Congressman Tom Emmer said.

Before today’s vote, Whip Emmer delivered the following remarks on the House Floor in support of the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

After much debate, we can now codify President Trump’s effort to prevent the development of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, and ensure the United States’ digital currency policy remains in the hands of the American people, and not the Administrative state.

I am proud to have my legislation, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, being considered on the House Floor for a vote today. This bill is straightforward: it prevents unelected Washington bureaucrats from creating a financial surveillance tool that – if not done correctly – will fundamentally alter the lives of every American.

Unlike decentralized digital assets, a CBDC is a digital form of sovereign currency that is designed, issued, and monitored by the federal government. It is government-controlled programmable money that, if designed without the privacy protections of cash, this could give the federal government the ability to surveil and restrict Americans’ transactions and monitor every aspect of our daily lives.

In other words, every dollar you spend, where you spend it, who you spend it with would all be visible to and tracked by the watchful eyes of Washington. There would be no cash, no anonymity, no space for private financial decision-making.

This isn't an inconceivable concept. We have already seen examples of governments developing these types of tools and using them to weaponize their financial systems against their citizens.

The Chinese Communist Party employs a CBDC that is being used to monitor and restrict citizens’ spending. The data is being used to develop a social credit system that rewards or punishes individuals based on their spending behavior.

In Canada, the former Trudeau Administration demonstrated the power of federal financial surveillance and control when it froze the bank accounts of hundreds of truckers protesting the COVID vaccine mandate in 2022.

Surely this totalitarian surveillance tool would never take root in the United States; however, that assumption would be wrong.

This is not a theoretical risk. It’s a very real and very dangerous precedent.

Under the Biden Administration, financial surveillance was a core tenant of President Biden’s policy agenda. In 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order placing urgency on CBDC research and development. Moreover, the agency reports created under that Executive Order made it clear that the previous administration was eager to create a CBDC and was willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for a CCP-style surveillance tool.

Our bill, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, prevents future administrations from weaponizing this technology against the American people, while ensuring that any development of digital money reflects our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness.

If not designed to be open, permissionless, and private, private with a capital “P” – resembling cash – a government-issued CBDC is nothing more than an Orwellian surveillance tool that will be used to erode the American way of life.

The Federal government has no business monitoring Americans’ daily financial lives. We don’t need – or want – a state-run digital dollar with Chinese Communist Party characteristics. We need to protect the core principles that make this country exceptional: liberty, limited government, and the right to privacy.

We are on the verge of the next game-changing technological evolution and must embrace this push for a more developed digital economy. In doing so, we cannot jeopardize who we are as Americans, and this bill is designed to ensure just that.

I want to thank Chairman Hill and Chairman Steil for their tireless work and advocacy on this issue, in addition to the 135 members of Congress who have joined as cosponsors of our legislation.

I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Background:

Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, a CBDC is a digital form of sovereign currency that is designed and issued by a central government and transacts on a digital ledger that is controlled by that government. Fundamentally, a CBDC is government-controlled, programmable money, that if developed without the privacy protections of cash, could give the federal government an unprecedented ability to surveil Americans’ financial transactions and suppress politically unpopular activity.

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act defends against this threat by prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals, or indirectly through intermediaries, preventing the Fed from becoming a retail bank with access to individual citizens’ financial data. It makes clear that the Fed cannot use any CBDC to implement monetary policy, preventing it from using the technology to manipulate the American economy. Finally, it requires that Congress pass legislation authorizing any government-created digital dollar, safeguarding private sector innovation and any future development of digital cash.

In January, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology which prohibits federal agencies from establishing, issuing, or promoting CBDCs. The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act codifies this Executive Order and guarantees that future administrations are unable to weaponize the technology against the American people.

Since the 117th Congress, Whip Emmer has been the leading voice against any Federal Reserve-issued central bank digital currency.

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act is supported by AMAC Action; America First Policy Institute; American Bankers Association; Americans for Prosperity; Americans for Tax Reform; America’s Credit Unions; Bank Policy Institute; Blockchain Association; Center for a Free Economy; Center for Freedom and Prosperity; Crypto Council for Innovation; Club for Growth; Consumer Bankers Association; DeFi Education Fund; Heritage Action - KEY VOTE; Independent Community Bankers of America; Project for Privacy & Surveillance Accountability; Restore the Fourth; Ripple; Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council; The Digital Chamber. Click here for more.

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