US lawmaker introduces bill aimed at limiting Fed's authority on digital dollar

Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer has introduced authorities successful the United States House of Representatives that could bounds the Federal Reserve from issuing a cardinal slope integer currency, oregon CBDC.

In a Feb. 22 announcement, Representative Emmer said helium had introduced the ‘CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act’ successful an evident effort to support Americans’ close to fiscal privacy. According to the Minnesota lawmaker, the measure could prohibit the Fed from issuing a integer dollar “directly to anyone”, barroom the cardinal slope from implementing monetary argumentation based connected a CBDC, and necessitate transparency for projects related to a integer dollar.

“Any integer mentation of the dollar indispensable uphold our American values of privacy, idiosyncratic sovereignty, and escaped marketplace competitiveness,” said Emmer. “Anything little opens the doorway to the improvement of a unsafe surveillance tool.”

Today, I introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to halt efforts of unelected bureaucrats successful Washington, DC from stripping Americans of their close to fiscal privacy. pic.twitter.com/lONbHFZMk7

If passed successful some the House and Senate and signed into instrumentality by President Joe Biden, the measure would amend the Federal Reserve Act to bounds the Fed’s authorization with respect to CBDCs. Emmer is the Majority Whip for the House, wherever Republicans presently clasp a bulk of seats. Cointelegraph reached retired to Representative Emmer's office, but did not person a effect astatine the clip of publication.

Many connected societal media lauded the measure arsenic a measurement successful the close direction. Bitcoiner Dan Held applauded Emmer’s actions, with others citing fiscal privateness arsenic 1 of the reasons they supported the legislation.

Source: Twitter

Emmer introduced a akin bill successful January 2022, during the past league of Congress erstwhile Republicans held a number successful the House. At the time, the U.S. lawmaker cited “China’s integer authoritarianism” successful limiting the Fed’s authorization connected a integer dollar — China had announced its integer yuan would beryllium disposable to overseas athletes astatine the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, and continues to determination forward with the project.

Related: US legislator calls connected SEC's Gensler to reply for 'regulatory failures'

During overmuch of his caller clip successful office, Representative Emmer has been considered a crypto-friendly lawmaker calling for the authorities to standard backmost regulation in bid to beforehand innovation successful the industry. In December, helium requested Securities and Exchange Commission seat Gary Gensler appear earlier Congress to "answer questions astir the outgo of his regulatory failures".