May 23, one of our biggest legislative priorities, my CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. 

The bill is straightforward, it prevents unelected bureaucrats from issuing a financial surveillance tool that could fundamentally undermine the American way of life.

For those unfamiliar, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a digital form of sovereign currency, designed, issued and monitored by the federal government. Essentially, a CBDC is a government-regulated, programmable currency that could be misused by federal authorities to monitor American’s financial transactions and even restrict individuals from spending their own money on items and activities considered politically unfavorable.

This idea is more than just alarming, it’s un-American.

We have already seen examples of governments weaponizing their financial system against their citizens. In China, the Communist Party uses a CBDC to monitor its citizens’ spending habits. This data is utilized to construct a social credit system that rewards or penalizes individuals based on their behavior. In Canada, the Trudeau Administration froze the bank accounts of individuals involved in the 2022 trucker protests. 

This type of financial control and surveillance has no place in America. 

Think this could never happen in the United States? Think again. President Biden issued an executive order in 2022 placing urgency on CBDC research and development. The agency reports responding to that executive order have made it clear that the Biden Administration is not only itching to create a CBDC, but they are interested in developing and deploying one. 

My bill, which passed the House May 23, prohibits the Federal Reserve from developing and issuing a CBDC. 

For more than two years, we have been working to update, grow support, and pass this important legislation that ensures Americans’ financial privacy is protected. I want to thank my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, for their support in this effort. Rest assured, we will continue to stand up and defend your civil liberties wherever they are threatened.