The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, the first anti-central bank digital currency legislation initiative launched in the United States, was approved by the House Financial Services Committee. The bill, according to Congressman Tom Emmer, prevents the Biden administration "from issuing a financial surveillance tool that will undermine the American way of life."
Advancement of the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act
The House Financial Services Committee has approved the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, which U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN) and 50 other members reintroduced in Congress last week.
Emmer underlined that the bill, which he has been working on for more than three years, is the first anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) legislative attempt to be submitted in the United States.
The congressman explained, adding: "Today, this bill has the support of 60 members of Congress and organizations ranging from the Independent Community Bankers Association and American Bankers Association to Club for Growth, Heritage Action, and the Blockchain Association."
The purpose of this law is straightforward: It prevents the Administrative State led by President Biden from releasing a financial monitoring instrument that will jeopardize the way of life in America.
The Federal Reserve is prohibited from granting a CBDC directly to people, even through intermediaries, per the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act. With this, "the Fed cannot mobilize into a retail bank able to collect personal financial information on Americans," as the congressman put it, will be ensured. Additionally, "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," he continued.
Emmer noted that the Communist Party in China is keeping tabs on its constituents' purchasing patterns by using a digital currency issued by the country's central bank. The Trudeau administration in Canada, meanwhile, "froze the bank accounts of participants in the 2022 trucker demonstrations. That might be effective in Canada, but it is ineffective here, he said.
The legislator expressed concern about Americans' rising interest in financial surveillance. "The White House issued an Executive Order placing urgency on central bank digital currency research and development, and the agency reports to that executive order have made it clear that the Biden administration is not only itching to create a CBDC, but they are willing to trade Americans' right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style central bank digital currency," Emmer warned.
The lawmaker emphasized, cautioning: "Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, a central bank digital currency... is government-controlled programmable money that, if not designed to mimic cash, could give the federal government the ability to surveil and restrict Americans' transactions."
This is blatantly un-American and disturbing at the same time. Governments using their financial systems as weapons against their citizens have already been demonstrated.
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