by Sean Moran
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) on Wednesday introduced legislation to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which he and others say could surveil Americans’ financial activity.
“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,” Emmer, a staunch cryptocurrency advocate, wrote.
He continued, “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 that the bill would bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC, prevent the Fed from using a CBDC for monetary policy purposes, and require the Fed’s CBDC projects to be transparent.
CBDCs are digital versions of national fiat currencies that operate on private blockchains.
He noted, “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.”
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