Congressman Tom Emmer spoke in the House of Representatives against Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), warning they are surveillance tools. Emmer has been against the U.S. current CBDC project for a while and is now doubling down on his stance.
Notably, the Congressman’s most recent appearance was in a video shared through his official X account on May 22. Before that, Tom Emmer gave an interview to Bloomberg on May 20, addressing a similar stance. According to him, the House of Republicans will take action to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC.
In this most recent speech, the U.S. Congressman warned CBDCs “threaten to destroy the American way of life.” This was said while Tom Emmer presented the “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.”
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“With this legislation, we are going to stop unelected bureaucrats in the Biden Administration from using a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), that threatens to destroy the American way of life.”
– Tom Emmer
Congressman Tom Emmer: CBDCs must be like cash
Interestingly, Emmer continued his speech by comparing CBDCs with decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and mentioning the properties of the competing tools.
“Unlike decentralized digital assets such as Bitcoin, CBDCs are a digital form of a sovereign currency designed, issued, and monitored by the Federal Government. In short, a CBDC is a government-controlled, programable money that, if not designed to be just like cash—open, permissionless, and Private (with a capital P)—it not only could it will give the federal government significant transaction-level data and individuals an ability to suppress politically unpopular activity.”
– Tom Emmer
The Congressman mentioned the example of China weaponizing its Central Bank Digital Currency against its citizens, besides other countries. Moreover, Tom Emmer warned about a Federal Reserve document highlighting CBDCs as one of their key duties moving forward.
“In doing this, the Biden Administration has proven they are itching to trade Americans’ right to privacy for a CCP-style CBDC surveillance tool,” concluded the U.S. Representative.
However, he explained that the “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act” will not prevent a CBDC from existing. The bill aims to ensure that the centralized monetary system can maintain cash’s attributes as permissionless and “Private (with a capital P)” and guarantee individual sovereignty.
