U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer has introduced a bill to prevent the Federal Reserve (the Fed) from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The ‘CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act’ aims to defend the financial privacy of American citizens. Emmer stated in a February tweet.
Today, I introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to halt efforts of unelected bureaucrats in Washington, DC from stripping Americans of their right to financial privacy. 👇 pic.twitter.com/lONbHFZMk7
— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) February 22, 2023
“Any digital version of the dollar must uphold our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness. Anything less opens the door to the development of a dangerous surveillance tool,” Emmer said.
The bill seeks to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing digital dollars and using CBDCs to implement monetary policy and regulate the economy.
In addition, the House Majority Whip stated that the Fed should be transparent with Congress regarding its CBDC project if the bill becomes law. The law mandates that the Federal Reserve provide periodic updates to Congress about experimental programs.
Maintaining the U.S. position in the tech world
The congressman stated that the bill contributes to maintaining America’s technological leadership.
“After all, America remains a technological leader not because we force innovations to adopt our values under regulatory duress but because we allow technology that holds these values at their core to flourish,” he added.
If the measure passes, it will diminish the U.S.’ aspirations of implementing a CBDC, which has dominated the debate on crypto regulations. Notably, the Fed still needs to clarify its intentions regarding introducing CBDCs, and industry participants view it as an ideal countermeasure to the rise of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
Jerome Powell, chairman of the Fed, stated that a CBDC pegged to the U.S. dollar would significantly maintain the dollar’s global dominance. In general, an increasing number of international jurisdictions are conducting research on CBDCs.
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco recently advertised a position for software developers to assist with the research and design of a CBDC.
