Summary
Official press release from House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) on the passage of the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (H.R. 1919), 219-210. Includes full floor remarks. The bill prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail CBDC and codifies Trump’s executive order. Emmer explicitly invokes China’s digital yuan and Canada’s trucker account freezes as cautionary examples.
Key Points
- House vote: 219-210 (narrow partisan majority; not bipartisan like GENIUS/CLARITY Acts).
- Bill prohibits Fed from issuing CBDC directly or via intermediaries; prevents Fed from using CBDC for monetary policy.
- Codifies Trump’s January 2025 EO prohibiting federal agencies from establishing or promoting CBDCs.
- Requires Congress to explicitly authorize any future government digital dollar.
- Emmer’s China framing: “The Chinese Communist Party employs a CBDC that is being used to monitor and restrict citizens’ spending” and develop a social credit system.
- Canada trucker framing: Trudeau’s 2022 freezing of trucker bank accounts cited as proof CBDCs could be weaponized.
- Biden Administration framed as having actively pursued a CBDC — 2022 EO “placed urgency on CBDC research and development.”
- Supported by: ABA, Heritage Action, Club for Growth, Blockchain Association, Ripple, and others.
- Emmer has championed this since the 117th Congress.
Newsletter Angles
- The 219-210 vote is telling: this is the most partisan of the three Crypto Week bills.
- The China/Canada framing is the core rhetorical move — CBDC = surveillance state. Worth unpacking: does the U.S. private stablecoin system actually solve these concerns?
- Banking industry support (ABA, ICBA) is notable — banks benefit if government doesn’t issue competing digital currency.
Entities Mentioned
- Donald Trump — EO being codified into law
- Federal Reserve — prohibited from CBDC issuance
- Tom Emmer — bill sponsor; full floor remarks included
- Circle — implied private sector alternative to CBDC
Concepts Mentioned
- CBDC — primary subject; explicit prohibition
- Regulatory Weaponization — argument that CBDC would be government financial surveillance weapon
- GENIUS Act — companion legislation (same week)
- Stablecoin Legislation — private alternative to what CBDC would have done
- Crypto Week — the legislative sprint
Quotes
“If not designed to be open, permissionless, and private, private with a capital ‘P’ – resembling cash – a government-issued CBDC is nothing more than an Orwellian surveillance tool.”
“We don’t need – or want – a state-run digital dollar with Chinese Communist Party characteristics.”
Notes
Primary source; Emmer’s full floor remarks are substantive. The partisan vote (219-210) vs. the bipartisan GENIUS Act vote (68-30 in Senate) is an important data point.