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Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act

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SUMMARY

Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act This bill prohibits a Federal Reserve bank from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency (i.e., a digital dollar). Further, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is prohibited from using a central bank digital currency to implement monetary policy or from testing, studying, creating, or implementing a central bank digital currency, with exceptions as provided by the bill.

FULL TEXT

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 1124 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1124

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to prohibit the Federal reserve banks from offering certain products or services directly to an individual, to prohibit the use of central bank digital currency for monetary policy, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 25, 2025

Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Budd, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to prohibit the Federal reserve banks from offering certain products or services directly to an individual, to prohibit the use of central bank digital currency for monetary policy, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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This Act may be cited as the ``Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS RELATING TO CERTAIN PRODUCTS OR SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND PROHIBITION ON DIRECTLY ISSUING A CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.

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Section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``A Federal reserve bank may not-- ``(1) offer products or services directly to an individual; ``(2) maintain an account on behalf of an individual; or ``(3) issue a central bank digital currency, as defined in section 10(11)(D), or any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other name or label.''.

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SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS INDIRECTLY ISSUING A CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.

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Section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 411 et seq.), as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the following: ``A Federal reserve bank may not offer a central bank digital currency, as defined in section 10(11)(D), or any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other name or label, indirectly to an individual through a financial institution or other intermediary.''.

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SEC. 4. PROHIBITION WITH RESPECT TO CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.

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Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is amended by inserting before paragraph (12) the following:

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``(11) Prohibition with respect to central bank digital currency.-- ``(A) In general.--The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System may not test, study, develop, create, or implement a central bank digital currency, or any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other name or label.

``(B) Monetary policy.--The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market

Committee may not use a central bank digital currency to implement monetary policy, or any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other name or label.

``(C) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) and the eighteenth and nineteenth undesignated paragraphs of

section 16 may not be construed to prohibit any dollardenominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private, and fully preserves the privacy protections of United States coins and physical currency.

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``(D) Central bank digital currency defined.--In this paragraph, the term `central bank digital currency' means a form of digital money or monetary value that is-- ``(i) denominated in the national unit of account;

``(ii) a direct liability of the Federal

Reserve System; and ``(iii) widely available to the general public.''.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

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It is the sense of Congress that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve does not have the authority to issue a central bank digital currency, or any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other name or label, and will not have such authority unless Congress grants such authority pursuant to section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States. <all>