In 2022, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, completed a study known as "Project Hamilton" to research the adoption of a US Central Bank Digital Currency. A central bank digital currency is a programmable digital currency issued and regulated by a government and recorded on a digital ledger controlled by that government.
Just as for many across America, this project concerned me and many of my colleagues in Congress. The implementation of a US Central Bank Digital Currency (also known as a CBDC) could easily jeopardize the financial privacy and freedom of all Americans by giving the government the ability to monitor or restrict any transactions and accounts.
We have already seen the consequences a government-controlled CBDC can have on a country’s citizens. In China, the Communist Party has implemented a CBDC which they have used to diminish individual freedom by closely tracking citizens' transactions and limiting or punishing them for purchases.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve lacks the authority to issue a CBDC without congressional approval. Despite these concerns, the Biden Administration, through Executive Order #14067, continues to advocate for CBDC research and development in the United States.
To prevent this from happening, with my support, House Republicans passed H.R. 1122, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act. This bill, of which I am a cosponsor, would halt efforts of unelected bureaucrats from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that would strip Americans of their right to financial privacy.
