(HorizonPost.com) – Last week, House Majority Whip, Missesota Republican Tom Emmer introduced legislation that would prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing digital currency directly to individuals.
The “CBDC Anti-Surveillance Act” would prohibit the Fed from directly issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to an individual. It would also require transparency to any CBDC projects by requiring quarterly reports to Congress.
In a tweet last Wednesday, Emmer argued that any digital dollar must uphold “privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness.” He warned that if it doesn’t, the Fed could use a CBDC as “a dangerous surveillance tool.”
Emmer’s measure received the support of South Carolina Republican Congressman Ralph Norman who quickly co-sponsored the bill.
In a tweet last week, Norman called the idea of a Fed-issued digital currency “awful,” arguing that in the face of “abusive government surveillance,” the central bank should not be allowed the “means to monitor individual account holders or their transactions.”
In addition to Congressman Norman, Emmer’s “CBDC Anti-Surveillance Act” also has the support of House members Andy Biggs (R-AZ), French Hill (R-AR), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), and Young Kim (R-CA).
Emmer’s legislation also has the support of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU).
In a letter to Emmer on Monday, NAFCU president B. Dan Berger said that a central bank digital currency not only raises privacy concerns but also comes with risks that could “negatively impact credit unions” while posing broader risks to financial stability. Berger argues that the Fed getting involved in digital currency would also “distract” it from its mandate to achieve stable prices and “maximum sustainable employment.”
In November, The Epoch Times reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was working with financial institutions like Citigroup, HSBC Holdings, Mastercard, and Wells Fargo on a 12-week pilot program to review how banks could process digital dollars through the central bank system.
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