WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Alex X. Mooney’s amendment to H.R. 5403, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, to close the Federal Reserve’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot program loophole. Specifically, this amendment prohibits the Federal Reserve from establishing, carrying out, or approving a program intended to test the practicability of issuing a CBDC. This amendment was identical to Congressman Mooney’s H.R. 3712, the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act, which was introduced on May 25, 2023.
Congressman Mooney also applauds the passage of Congressman Tom Emmer’s H.R. 5403 which prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC.
“Make no mistake: a federal digital dollar can very easily be used to spy on American citizens and become a social credit system.” said Congressman Alex X. Mooney. “If the federal government wants to experiment with a surveillance tool that the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose, that direction must come from a vote in Congress.”
For background, Congressional Republicans have been clear that the Federal Reserve does not have the statutory authority to issue a CBDC without an act of Congress, despite the Federal Reserve’s ambiguity. CBDCs pose major privacy and government surveillance concerns. Still, the Federal Reserve caught attention late last year for its CBDC pilot projects, even contracting with the private sector to build potential CBDCs for the United States which went beyond traditional research.
Right now, China is circulating its CBDC as part of a “pilot” program which will be used to monitor the transactions of its people and restrict banking access to government dissenters. Legislation is needed to ensure that the Federal Reserve cannot make an end run around Congress and issue a CBDC as part of any pilot program while stopping its current development dead in its tracks.
Watch Congressman Mooney’s full remarks HERE.