Rep. Tom Emmer Asserts Democrats Secretly Endorsing CBDC Bill

Tom Emmer acknowledged the active debate pitting regulators, lawmakers, and President Biden’s administration as the determinants of the present crypto discussions.

Representative Emmer, also dubs the Republican House Majority Whip (R-MN), claimed that his CBDC Anti-Surveillance Act had acquired considerable support among policymakers. He acknowledged the inclusion of those yet to reveal their support publicly.

Bill Seeks to Avert Direct Issuance of CBDC by Central Bank

This law was introduced in February and sought to avert the direct issuance of a CBDC to citizens or the utilization of the technology to govern monetary policy. Besides, the legislation seeks to subject the United States central bank to more oversight while guiding or studying a digital dollar.

Emmer revealed the bill had nine cosponsors. However, including 14 other members of Congress has increased the number to 23. Additionally, all these are Republicans, but it is crucial to note that this only includes politicians whose names appear on the legislation.

Bipartisan Support Evident in Proposed CBDC Anti-Surveillance Act

During a discussion hosted by the Federalist Society, Tom Emmer claimed that besides crypto-friendly Republicans, persons outside the party had supported the legislation. He also claimed that despite considerable support from the other side, citing the unfavorable administration, it is still difficult for them to make public their support.

CBDCs are similar to digital assets such as bitcoins based on a sovereign currency’s price, for instance, the United States dollar. However, they are provided and maintained by respective central banks or governments instead of private organizations.

Some lawmakers believe that CBDCs can enhance financial inclusion. In this case, they have the potential to eliminate intermediaries, which could result in improved transparency, reduced costs, and real-time settlement. However, Tom Emmer and others have disapproved of it as a surveillance tool since it is at risk of abuse.

CBDC Should Embrace Privacy Rights Mirroring Bank Deposits

Specifically, critics have privacy concerns and argue that the government can utilize the technology to keep track of spending habits and transactions, hence invading privacy. Michael Barr, the Fed’s Vice-chair for Supervision, acknowledged these concerns back in March by claiming that CBDC needs to provide privacy similar to bank deposits.

The Fed has claimed that providing retail-facing CBDC for daily purchases will only be possible with Congress’s approval. However, Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, has approved a different CBDC for financial institutions.

Rep Emmer Dismisses the Distinction of Wholesale and Retail CBDC

On Monday, Tom Emmer highlighted the difference between a wholesale and retail CBDC. In this case, he argued that the treasury, Fed, and other bureaucrats used unnecessary words to describe the distinction.

Finally, he emphasized the need for a CBDC to stick to ideals within the Web3 space and bear a similarity to stablecoins where possible. He stated that one must listen to what the central government is saying if one is ready to conduct a permissionless, open, and private cash simulation. Failure to do so means that one should not participate in creating a central bank digital currency.

Criticism of CBDC as Eroding American Values

The Minnesota congressman Emmer portrays CBDC as vulnerable to becoming a surveillance channel. Instead, he proposes that it mirror the digital version of the US dollar, thus upholding privacy, market competitiveness, and individual sovereignty values. 

Emmer considers that any digital version that fails that test leaves the system vulnerable to transforming into a dangerous surveillance tool. He restated that the bill targets a threefold objective, primarily prohibiting the Fed from CBDC issuance. 

The proposed draft bars the Federal Reser from deploying CBDC as a channel to enforce the monetary policy and control the economy. Lastly, it evokes the need for the Fed to exercise full transparency to the US citizens and Congress concerning the CBDC project. 

Emmer is devoted to seeing the CBDC Anti-surveillance bill sail, citing the early campaign that began in 2021. He opposed CBDC issuance in January 2022, urging FED to prioritize blockchain technology implementation with American nature and not replicating China’s digital authoritarianism.  

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