Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer announced on Tuesday that he has re-introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, first filed in late February in an effort to prevent the United States from issuing a digital dollar.
“If it is not designed to emulate cash, a government digital currency would erode Americans’ right to financial privacy and encourage an administrative state,” Emmer posted on Twitter today. “I won’t let that happen.”
Legislation introduced earlier this year aimed to prevent the US Federal Reserve from directly issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to individuals.
A CBDC is a digital version of a state’s fiat currency. Similar to stablecoins, they are usually pegged 1:1 to a particular national currency. Such digital dollars have come under fire from across the political spectrum over perceived risks to financial privacy as well as fears of government overreach.
Emmer’s re-introduced bill comes with two key differences compared to the original bill. First, it adds a new section that bans “intermediate CBDCs,” which are issued by the Fed but managed by retail banks and other financial institutions. This type of scheme is used by China for its controversial digital yuan.
The second amendment is to remove the requirement to report to Congress about any potential CBDC pilot program being studied by the Federal Reserve. According to fox business, Emmer explained that the move is to make the bill “more narrowly focused”.
Introduced with the support of 49 Republican co-sponsors, the legislative action reflects the assortment of politicians’ views on the matter of digital currencies.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz has been a staunch supporter of Bitcoin in recent days, saying he is a “big believer” in the crypto’s mining industry. Many of her congressional colleagues are also supportive of crypto-friendly legislation, with Cynthia Loomis at the forefront of the congressional skirmishes.
Still, all is not rosy in Washington DC for digital asset supporters. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and condemned the crypto industry for being an “area rife with fraud, abuse and misconduct.”
Democrats, for the most part, have been notably anti-crypto – Emmer previously alleged that while some of his colleagues on the other side of the aisle support his CBDC bill, he claimed they were reluctant to publicly endorse it because of the optics. Cannot accept from. Eventually, Emmer expressed his thoughts on the updated bill with “Bottom Line” on Twitter.
“If not open, permissionless, and private – like cash – a CBDC is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that could be weaponized to oppress the American way of life,” Emmer suggested.
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