Congressional Members Push for Indefinite CBDC Prohibition, Reject Time-Limited Moratorium
Congressional representatives are insisting that any prohibition on a US central bank digital currency should be indefinite rather than temporary, calling such a currency fundamentally contrary to American values.
A coalition of Congressional representatives is joining forces in an effort to ensure the nation's central banking institution never launches a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), expressing concern that current legislative proposals merely postpone implementation until 2031.
"We write to you to express the dire need to prohibit a Central Bank Digital Currency from ever happening in the United States," Congressman Michael Cloud stated in correspondence sent on Friday to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate majority leader John Thune, with the backing of 28 additional Congressional members.
The correspondence comes in response to a suggested modification to the Federal Reserve Act that would prevent the nation's central banking authority from launching a CBDC through 2031. This modification appears within the extensive 300-page "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act" (HR 6644), which the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs made public on Monday.
Cloud, along with his fellow Congressional members, maintained that this time-limited restriction fails to provide adequate protection for American citizens.
"A prohibition of a Central Bank Digital Currency must be permanent," the correspondence stated, further noting that CBDCs "would expose Americans to unconstitutional financial surveillance and give the unelected Federal Reserve unprecedented power over Americans' finances that would violate their civil liberties and financial freedom."
US lawmakers argue it must end "before it is too late"
"A CBDC is inherently anti-American and a looming issue we must put an end to before it is too late," the correspondence emphasized.
The Congressional members contended that the modification "includes a watered-down version" of the "Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act" (HR 1919), legislation that Congressman Tom Emmer put forward in June 2025.
This legislation successfully cleared the House on July 17 but remains pending complete Senate authorization.
The correspondence highlighted that the modified legislation fails to prevent the Federal Reserve from conducting research on a CBDC. "The strong language of H.R.1919 must be restored," the correspondence emphasized.
An independent piece of legislation, the No CBDC Act (S 464), was put forward by Senator Mike Lee in February 2025 with the aim of barring both the Federal Reserve and Treasury from launching a CBDC, though it failed to advance through Congress.