The bill would effectively end the debate over the creation of a CBDC issued by the Federal Reserve.
US Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN) introduced a bill that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to anyone.
The bill, titled the “State Anti-CBDC Surveillance Law,” details that “Except as specifically authorized under this Act, a Federal Reserve Bank may not offer products or services directly to an individual, or maintain a account in the name of an individual, or issue a central bank digital currency directly to an individual.” It goes on to specifically detail that “The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee may not use any digital currency of the central bank to implement monetary policy”.
Representative Emmer explained in his tweet announcing the bill that “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.”
The bill aims to stop the creation of a CBDC due to the various problems that many see as possible results of the creation of an American CBDC. As detailed in various Bitcoin Magazine articles such as “The Dangerous Implications of Central Bank Digital Currencies,” “Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Technocratic Fallacy,” and “The US Central Bank Digital Currency Narrative. it’s a fantasy,” the idea of a CBDC is not only met with moral and ideological opposition, but technical limitations present challenges that might make such a thing not possible in the first place.
Several deputies involved in the bill have also expressed their support. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) posted a statement saying he was “proud to join forces with Rep. Emmer on legislation to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. The Fed should be focused on its primary mission of stable prices and maximum employment, not following our transactions indefinitely.” Also, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) reiterated this point, explaining that “unelected bureaucrats are driving us into an authoritarian state. That can’t happen.
