WASHINGTON – Majority Whip Tom Emmer secured further support for his CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act this week as Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Senate companion to Whip Emmer’s bill. Heritage Action also announced it will include cosponsorship of the legislation on its legislative scorecard. The bill prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a surveillance-style central bank digital currency (CBDC) that would upend Americans’ right to financial privacy.
“Since being first introduced in 2022, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act has garnered significant momentum, having gained over 100 cosponsors and broad support from industry stakeholders including the American Bankers Association, Blockchain Association, Heritage Action, Club for Growth, Independent Community Bankers Association, and the America First Policy Institute. We are grateful for the support of Senator Cruz on this important legislation that ensures the United States’ digital currency policy upholds the American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free-market competitiveness,” Whip Emmer said.
“The Biden administration salivates at the thought of infringing on our freedom and intruding on the privacy of citizens to surveil their personal spending habits, which is why Congress must clarify that the Federal Reserve has no authority to implement a CBDC. I’m proud to lead the fight in the Senate to restrict the Federal Reserve’s exploration of and attempt to introduce a CBDC to the American economy,” Senator Cruz said.
Read what stakeholders are saying in response to Whip Emmer and Senator Cruz’s legislation:
“While Americans across the country are being punished for thinking, speaking, and voting the ‘wrong’ way, the last thing we need is the government surveilling personal finances. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a fixed-value, government-run cryptocurrency that replaces the dollars in your bank and wallet. Anti-CBDC legislation is necessary to safeguard Americans' financial privacy in the face of potential surveillance, control, and political intimidation. Heritage Action and our two million grassroots activists nationwide encourage congressional action on this issue. We will be issuing a Key Vote Cosponsorship in support of Whip Emmer and Senator Cruz’s bill—and will include cosponsorship on our legislative scorecard.” – Ryan Walker, Heritage Action Executive Vice President
“CBDCs present major privacy concerns for everyday Americans, including granting the government the ability to collect intimate personal details on U.S. citizens, and potentially track and freeze funds for any reason. We applaud the introduction of the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in the Senate – legislation aimed at preventing a CBDC from being issued in the United States.” – Blockchain Association
“ABA has long believed that a CBDC would pose significant risks to our financial system that would outweigh any potential benefits, including undermining the critical role that banks play in extending credit and powering the economy. We applaud Sen. Cruz and his cosponsors for introducing this important legislation that will help protect consumers and our financial system.” – Rob Nichols, President and CEO of American Bankers Association
“The creation of a U.S. CBDC would threaten the financial health of the country and the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans. It would subject Americans to financial surveillance and discrimination should they hold the ‘wrong’ beliefs, hurt economic growth by crowding out private sector investment, and create significant financial volatility by incentivizing Americans to pull their capital from private banks. Club for Growth applauds Senator Cruz’s introduction of this critical legislation to protect Americans from the dangers of a CBDC.” – David McIntosh, President of Club for Growth
ICBA President & CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said, “ICBA and the nation’s community banks strongly oppose the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency, which would disintermediate community banks, reduce credit availability, and undermine consumer privacy. By barring the Federal Reserve from issuing a U.S. CBDC to consumers, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act would avoid the unnecessary risks to consumers and small businesses that a U.S. CBDC would pose. We encourage Congress to continue advancing this important legislation.” – Rebeca Romero Rainey, President and CEO of Independent Community Bankers of America
“Giving the government access to your bank account is as farfetched as it is dangerous. The America First Policy Institute is proud to lead the effort to save financial freedom. Federal government insiders can’t help themselves; a digital currency controlled by the government is the greatest threat to our community banking system and small business entrepreneurs our Nation has seen. The growing trend of weaponizing government for partisan political purposes erodes society's harmonious nature, undermines individual liberty, curtails America’s unbridled spirit of enterprise, and threatens our ability to realize the greatest economy in the world. The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act is a momentous step that would clarify and reassert that only Congress can authorize and regulate forms of exchange.” – Mike Faulkender, Chief Economist at the America First Policy Institute
Background:
Unlike traditional decentralized cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, a CBDC is a digital form of sovereign currency that is designed and issued by a central government and transacts on a digital ledger controlled by that government. Simply, a CBDC is a government-controlled programmable money that, if not designed to emulate the privacy protections of cash, could give governments the ability to surveil citizens’ financial transactions and restrict politically unpopular activity.
Since the 117th Congress, Whip Emmer has been the leading voice against any Federal Reserve-issued central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act prevents the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals, ensuring the Fed cannot mobilize into a retail bank able to collect personal financial information on Americans. It prohibits the Federal Reserve from indirectly issuing a CBDC to individuals through an intermediary, preventing the Federal Reserve from launching a retail CBDC via our two-tier financial system. Furthermore, the legislation makes it clear that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury lack the authority to issue a CBDC without Congressional authorization. The legislation prohibits the Federal Reserve from using any CBDC to implement monetary policy, ensuring the Federal Reserve cannot use a CBDC as a tool to control the American economy. Finally, the legislation aims to protect innovation and the development of any future digital cash that maintains the privacy protections of cash.
The bill is now co-sponsored by 104 of Whip Emmer’s Republican colleagues. You can read the bill in its entirety, here.
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