Rep. Tom Emmer has never been shy about his feelings toward a government-issued digital dollar. The Minnesota Republican has repeatedly called a central bank digital currency the “ultimate surveillance tool,” arguing it has no place in a country built on individual privacy and free-market principles.
His words aren’t just rhetoric. They come attached to actual legislation that’s now making its way through Congress.
The bill and its journey
Emmer is the lead sponsor of H.R. 1919, formally known as the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. The bill does exactly what its name suggests: it would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals.
But it goes further than a simple ban. The legislation requires explicit congressional approval before any digital dollar initiative can move forward. In English: the Fed can’t quietly build one in the background and roll it out. Congress would have to sign off first.
