HR1919-119

What This Bill Does

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act blocks the Federal Reserve from creating a retail central bank digital currency. Section 2 prohibits a Federal Reserve Bank from offering products or services directly to individuals, maintaining accounts for individuals, or issuing a central bank digital currency or substantially similar digital asset directly to individuals. Section 3 also prohibits a Federal Reserve Bank from offering a central bank digital currency indirectly through a financial institution or other intermediary. Section 4 bars the Federal Reserve Board from testing, studying, developing, creating, or implementing a central bank digital currency and bars both the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee from using one to implement monetary policy. The bill preserves an exception for dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, private, and preserves the privacy protections of coins and physical currency. Section 5 states Congress's view that the Federal Reserve currently lacks CBDC authority and should not receive it unless Congress grants it under Article I, section 8.

Who Benefits and How

Commercial banks, community banks, credit unions, payment processors, private digital-asset firms, privacy advocates, cash users, consumers who prefer private payment alternatives, congressional banking committees, and lawmakers guarding Article I monetary authority benefit because the bill prevents the Federal Reserve from bypassing banks or intermediaries with retail accounts, CBDC wallets, CBDC pilots, or monetary-policy tools tied to a Fed-issued digital asset.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal Reserve Banks, the Board of Governors, the Federal Open Market Committee, Federal Reserve CBDC research teams, monetary-policy staff, technology pilot teams, and financial-regulation staff must stop or avoid CBDC issuance, CBDC intermediation, CBDC testing, direct individual accounts, and monetary-policy implementation through a CBDC. Supporters of a Federal Reserve digital-dollar program lose an administrative pathway unless Congress provides new statutory authority.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits Federal Reserve Banks from offering products, services, accounts, CBDCs, or substantially similar digital assets directly to individuals.
• Bars Federal Reserve Banks from offering CBDCs indirectly through financial institutions or other intermediaries.
• Prohibits the Federal Reserve Board from testing, studying, developing, creating, or implementing a CBDC.
• Prohibits the Board and Federal Open Market Committee from using a CBDC to implement monetary policy.
• Defines central bank digital currency and preserves an exception for open, permissionless, private dollar-denominated currency.
• States that the Federal Reserve lacks CBDC authority unless Congress grants it.