Surveillance Clash: Into the Congressional Debut of an Anti-CBDC Bill

by ZeroRequiemSeptember 15th, 2023

Too Long; Didn't Read

The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act aims to safeguard Americans’ financial privacy by thwarting the potential issuance of a central bank digital currency. The bill was originally introduced into Congress on February 21, 2023. A section was added to ban “intermediate CBDCs”, which are issued by the Fed but managed by retail banks and other financial institutions. A provision requiring the Fed to report to Congress any CBDC pilot programs or studies was removed.

featured image - Surveillance Clash: Into the Congressional Debut of an Anti-CBDC Bill

Step into the world where politics and cryptocurrency collide as Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer reintroduces the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act. This legislative move aims to safeguard Americans’ financial privacy by thwarting the potential issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Inside, you’ll uncover the bill’s key provisions, including recent tweaks, and explore Emmer’s strong opposition towards CBDCs, which he likens to surveillance tools. Join the debate on the future of digital currencies and unravel the complexities of this financial privacy showdown.

On September 12th, the Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer announced the reintroduction of the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.

The goal of this legislation is to “halt the efforts of unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that dismantles Americans’ right to financial privacy.”

H.R. 1122: The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act was originally introduced into Congress on February 21, 2023.

The original bill was sponsored by 47 members of Congress, all Republicans.

With slightly more support than its previous submission, the re-introduced bill is now sponsored by 50 Congressmen, all Republicans again.

According to a report by Fox Business, there are two main differences between this re-introduced bill and the original:

A section was added to ban “intermediate CBDCs,” which are issued by the Fed but managed by retail banks and other financial institutions.
A provision requiring the Fed to report to Congress any CBDC pilot programs or studies was removed.

Congressman Tom Emmer explains that these changes were made to make the bill more “narrowly focused” on the CBDC issue.

Here is a direct link to the re-introduced Bill: https://emmer.house.gov/_cache/files/b/5/b55fb1d4-4220-4bca-bacb-c9d46b2aabd8/B8E3DAD03DF34502832A2C8E54138CAB.cbdc-anti-surveillance-state-act.pdf

“The administration has made it clear: President Biden is willing to compromise the American people’s right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style CBDC. That’s why I’m reintroducing my landmark legislation to put a check on unelected bureaucrats and ensure the United States’ digital currency policy upholds our values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free-market competitiveness.”

- Tom Emmer, House Majority Whip and Congressmen

Congressman Tom Emmer took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to spread the news of his reintroduction of the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.

At the end of the thread, Emmer denounced CBDCs by calling them “nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool” that would be used “to oppress the American way of life.”

“Two world visions for the future of digital currencies are in conflict: China and a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) where government creates digital assets and surveils, spies, monitors, and restricts consumer behavior versus an American free marketplace that enables private competition that protects consumer data, allows economic freedom, enables innovation, and encourages competition. Club for Growth is pleased to work with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer so America doesn’t go down the China road and the Federal Reserve never develops a CBDC. We fully support this new legislation which does just that.”

- David McIntosh, President of Club for Growth

Within the press release, and quoted above, President David McIntosh of the Club for Growth put a great deal of importance on the proposed legislation.

McIntosh believes that this bill will serve to keep American ideals and values prominent while simultaneously rejecting the ideals of China, which he believes are linked to a CBDC and the control that naturally comes with it.

You can check out this series of investigations done by the New York Times to see for yourself just how far China has gone to surveil and collect data on their own citizens to ultimately control and influence them.

What are your thoughts on this news?

Do you think this type of legislation has a real chance of getting enough support to pass?

Is this part of a greater battle being fought over personal privacy and government restrictions?

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