The House Republican Leader, Tom Emmer, introduced a bill to protect Americans’ financial privacy in using CBDC.
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
The document lays out three core requirements:
- ФРС is prohibited from issuing a national digital currency for individuals;
- the agency cannot use CBDC to conduct monetary policy and to control the economy;
- The Fed’s digital dollar projects must be transparent to Congress.
According to the congressman, departing from these rules “opens the door to developing a dangerous instrument of surveillance over citizens.”
“Any digital version of the dollar must uphold our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and the competitive ethos inherent in a free market,” Emmer said.
introduced a similar bill in January 2022. At that time, the majority in the lower chamber belonged to the Democratic Party. The bill had no co-sponsors and did not advance to consideration.
This time Emmer has secured backing from nine fellow Republicans in his caucus. However, in the Senate the party is in the minority.
In 2021, Emmer argued that the design of the digital dollar excluded the possibility of financial oversight over citizens.
As reported, Arthur Hayes, the former head of BitMEX, described CBDCs as the ideal instrument for governments and an encroachment on sovereignty over transactions between people.