Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer has introduced legislation in the US House of Representatives that could restrict the Federal Reserve’s issuance of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
In a February 22 announcement, Emmer’s spokesperson said he introduced the “CBDC State Anti-Spying Act” in an apparent attempt to protect Americans’ right to financial privacy. The bill could ban the Fed from issuing a digital dollar “directly to anyone”, ban the central bank from conducting CBDC-based monetary policy, and require transparency for digital dollar projects, the Minnesota lawmaker said.
“Any digital version of the dollar must uphold our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness,” Emmer said. “Anything less opens the door to the development of a dangerous surveillance tool.”
Today, I introduced the CBDC State Anti-Spying Act to stop unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. from trying to deprive Americans of their right to financial privacy. pic.twitter.com/lONbHFZMk7
— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) February 22, 2023
If the bill passes in both the House and Senate and is signed into law by President Joe Biden, it would amend the Federal Reserve Act to limit the Fed’s powers over the CBDC. Emmer is the majority whip in the House of Representatives, where Republicans currently hold the majority of seats. Cryptooshala contacted Emmer’s representative’s office but received no response as of press time.
Many social media users called the bill a step in the right direction. Bitcoiner Dan Held applauded Emmer’s activities with others quoting financial privacy as one of the reasons they supported the legislation.
Emmer introduced a similar bill in January 2022, during the last session of Congress when Republicans were a minority in the House of Representatives. At the time, a U.S. lawmaker cited China’s “digital authoritarianism” in limiting the Fed’s power over the digital dollar – China announced that its digital yuan would be available to foreign athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and continues to push the project forward. .
US Senator Urges SEC’s Gensler to Account for ‘Regulatory Failures’
For much of his recent tenure, Rep. Emmer has been seen as a crypto-friendly lawmaker urging the government to roll back regulation to promote innovation in the industry. In December, he asked SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to appear before Congress to “answer questions about the cost of his regulatory failures.”
Credit : cointelegraph.com
