Emmer, Hill, Kim introduce CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act

Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) on Feb. 21 spearheaded a GOP-led bill that aims to protect Americans’ right to financial privacy by preventing the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to individuals.

The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, H.R. 1122, also would hold the Federal Reserve’s CBDC research and development programs accountable, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Emmer, who sponsored the bill alongside nine Republican original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. French Hill (R-AR) and Young Kim (R-CA).

“Any digital version of the dollar must uphold our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty and free market competitiveness,” Rep. Emmer said. “Anything less opens the door to the development of a dangerous surveillance tool.

“After all,” he added, “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.”

Specifically, H.R. 1122 would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to an individual, who could then become a retail bank able to collect personal information on all Americans, according to the bill summary.

Additionally, H.R. 1122 would bar 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 economy, the summary says. 

The bill also would require that the Federal Reserve Board of Governors consult each Federal Reserve bank about the development of a CBDC study or pilot program and issue a quarterly report to Congress on their progress and findings, according to the text of the bill.

“As chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, it is my top priority to protect people’s privacy and their data,” said Rep. Hill. “When it comes to consideration and design of any possible U.S. CBDC, the federal government cannot and does not have the authority to issue a CBDC directly to individuals without explicit congressional approval.”

Rep. Hill added that the bill “will protect the financial privacy of individuals, their civil liberties, and stop efforts of federal overreach to surveil Americans.”

“Innovation is the key to unlocking America’s economic future,” agreed Rep. Kim, noting that the bill will prohibit the federal government from monitoring everyday financial transactions. 

“I’ll keep working to promote financial freedom and economic empowerment for all Americans,” the congresswoman said.