A group of over 30 House Republicans is drawing a hard line on digital currency policy, threatening to block a major housing bill unless Congress includes a permanent ban on a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Led by Representative Michael Cloud (R-TX), the lawmakers sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) demanding stronger language prohibiting the Federal Reserve from ever issuing a CBDC.
Now, a CBDC is a digital form of a country’s money issued by its central bank that can enable faster, cheaper payments, but may reduce privacy because the government could more easily track transactions. That’s what the lawmakers are trying to protect: Americans' privacy.
The letter warns that without those changes, they will work to ensure the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is "dead-on arrival" when it reaches the House.
The housing bill, whose text was released by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), does contain a CBDC prohibition, but only through December 31, 2030.
Rep. Cloud and his colleagues argue that a temporary ban falls dangerously short.
"A prohibition of a Central Bank Digital Currency must be permanent," the letter states.
The group is pushing to restore the stronger language already passed by the House in H.R. 1919, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, introduced by Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN).
That bill passed on a bipartisan basis and would make the ban permanent. The lawmakers also noted that the current Senate bill text doesn't prohibit the Federal Reserve from even studying a CBDC, a gap they find unacceptable.
The letter also calls out Speaker Johnson directly, noting that during cryptocurrency negotiations last July, he promised a permanent CBDC ban would be included in the National Defense Authorization Act or similar legislation. Eight months later, that promise remains unfulfilled.
The group continues to argue that a CBDC would subject Americans to "unconstitutional financial surveillance" and hand unelected Federal Reserve officials sweeping control over personal finances.
The following members also signed the letter:
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