Washington, D.C. – Last night, Congressman Tom Emmer’s Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act passed out of the House Financial Services Committee markup and was reported favorably to the House floor, an important step toward passing the legislation through Congress. The legislation, which is supported by 114 of his House Republican colleagues, would prevent unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that would undermine Americans’ right to privacy.
Congressman Emmer spoke in support of the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act during the markup session. A transcript of his remarks can be found below:
Thank you, Chairman Hill. Today, we are marking up the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, a bill and an issue I am proud to lead on because our government should never be in the business of creating tools for financial surveillance.
Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, a CBDC is a digital form of sovereign currency that is issued, monitored, and managed by a central bank. In short, a CBDC is government-controlled programmable money that, if designed without privacy protections of cash, could give the federal government unilateral authority to surveil Americans’ transactions and restrict politically unpopular activity.
We’ve already seen examples of governments weaponizing their financial systems against their citizens. In China, the Communist Party is using a CBDC to track the spending habits of its citizens. Closer to home, in Canada, the Trudeau administration froze the bank accounts of citizens involved in the 2022 trucker protests. The Biden administration was actively researching a CBDC, and they would have gone ahead and created one, if it weren't for such resounding opposition in Congress evidenced by hundreds of Members of Congress who have supported this bill. Power-hungry bureaucrats will stop at nothing in their quest to gain control over the very people they’re supposed to be working for. President Trump recognizes this and accordingly, one of his first executive actions in office was to ban the United States federal government from ever creating a CBDC. We must codify this in law.
Although the Biden administration was willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style CBDC, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans surely are not. Last Congress, this bill passed out of the House of Representatives by a 216-192 vote. So far this Congress, this bill has 114 cosponsors and support from groups ranging from the Independent Community Bankers Association and the American Bankers Association to Club for Growth, Heritage Action, and the Blockchain Association. The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act ensures that the United States’ digital currency policy is in the hands of the American people – not the Administrative State – so it reflects our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness.
I’m grateful to my colleagues for working with me on this issue to ensure our federal government is never in the business of creating such an obvious tool for financial surveillance against its own citizens. And I thank the Chairman for including my bill in this markup today.
Mr. Chairman, 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 government and transacts on a digital ledger which that government controls. In short, a CBDC is a government-controlled programmable money that, if designed without the privacy protections of cash, could give the federal government the ability to surveil Americans’ transactions and choke out politically unpopular activity.
Specifically, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act prevents the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals, ensuring the Fed cannot mobilize itself into a retail bank with the ability to collect personal financial data on Americans. It prohibits the Fed from indirectly issuing a CBDC to individuals through an intermediary or third party. It prevents the Fed from using any form of CBDC as a tool to implement monetary policy. The bill also ensures the Treasury Department cannot direct the Federal Reserve Bank to design, build, develop, establish, or issue a CBDC and requires explicit Congressional authorization to issue any CBDC. Finally, the bill protects innovation that reflects American values.
Congressman Emmer first introduced the leading Republican bill to ban CBDCs in January of 2022. The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives in the 118th Congress.
You can read the bill in its entirety here.
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