US House Passes CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act

According to Blockworks, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Anti-Surveillance State Act was passed by the US House of Representatives on Thursday with a vote of 216-192. The legislation aims to prevent the Federal Reserve from directly offering a CBDC to individuals and using it to implement monetary policy. The bill was supported by three Democrats - Reps. Mary Peltola from Alaska, Marie Perez of Washington, and Jared Golden of Maine. No Republicans opposed the legislation. The bill was introduced in September by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and had gained 165 Republican cosponsors by the time of the House vote on Thursday afternoon. Emmer stated that his legislation ensures that the United States' digital currency policy remains in the hands of the American people, reflecting values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness. Emmer had initially introduced a version of the bill in February 2023. The legislation now moves to the Democrat-controlled Senate. This follows the recent passage of joint resolution 109 by the Senate, which, if signed by the president, would overturn the Security and Exchange Commission’s staff accounting bulletin (SAB) 121. This marks the second piece of crypto-focused legislation to pass in the House this week. The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, known as the FIT21 Act, was passed by the Representatives on Wednesday evening with two amendments. The FIT21 Act now advances to the Senate after receiving support from 71 House Democrats.