Anti-CBDC Bill: House Approves CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act

Anti-CBDC Bill: The U.S. House of Representatives has nodded for the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, marking a significant legislative milestone. Meanwhile, this decision comes at a time when the public and consumers were starting to worry about their privacy and the government’s intrusion into the financial sector, especially the proposed CBDC by the federal government.

Anti-CBDC Bill Passed

The passage of the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act is a win for the supporters of financial freedom, capturing the essence of a shared fight to keep the policy of digital currencies as a public interest rather than the executive branch’s discretion.

The bill was passed with a partisan vote of 216 to 192, primarily supported by Republicans, with 213 Republican votes in favor and three Democrats crossing party lines to support the measure.

BREAKING ‼️

House passes CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.

Federal Reserve blocked from issuing a CBDC.
There is still hope. Study #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/ERlu0Cr0im

— Alexander Ellefsen⚡️ (@4lexEllefsen) May 23, 2024

Led by Congressman Tom Emmer, the bill has received significant backing from different stakeholders, pointing to a bipartisan alarm over the dangers of a state-controlled digital currency.

This bill was a subject of heated debate in the House Financial Services Committee before it was presented on the floor where it elicited a lot of opposition from the Democratic side with the Ranking Democrat Maxine Waters (D-Calif. ) referring to the bill as ‘’anti-innovation.’’ ’’

In supporting the bill, Rep. Tom Emmer said,“This bill is very straightforward: it stops unelected officials from issuing a CBDC that would be devastating to Americans’ right to privacy concerning their money.

” We have seen the governments using their financial systems as a way of punishing their own people as we shall see later. For example, the Chinese Communist Party uses CBDC to regulate the spending pattern of the people. ”

Federal Reserve’s Position

Although the Federal Reserve has considered the idea of a CBDC, the current Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that the central bank is ‘nowhere near’ making the decision to issue it.

Powell was keen to stress that any possible CBDC would function through the banking system, and to reassure lawmakers that the Fed would not be opening personal accounts for Americans, but only banks should have accounts with the Fed.

This bill’s passing shows that there is still a lot of skepticism among U. S. legislators when it comes to CBDCs, which is in stark contrast to the rest of the world, where many countries are already considering or already have CBDCs.

Some critics opine that the failure to foster a U. S. CBDC might hamper the dominance of the U. S. dollar in the global economy, especially to other digitalized currencies that could likely dominate the international markets for trade.

However, despite its passage in the House, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act’s future in the Senate remains uncertain, given the Democratic majority. 

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