The U.S. House Financial Services Committee announced last Friday that it will discuss a new bill to prevent the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry announced that the markup, a session where committee members examine the proposal in detail and possibly offer amendments, of the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act will take place on Sept. 20.
The bill was first introduced by Alex Mooney, a Republican Party representative, on May 26.
“This bill would prohibit the Federal Reserve from establishing, carrying out, or approving a program intended to test the practicability of issuing a CBDC,” Mooney’s announcement said. “CBDCs pose major privacy and government surveillance concerns.”
He also claimed that China is utilizing its CBDC pilot program to monitor citizens and curtail banking access for government dissenters.
In July, the Federal Reserve said it had not decided to issue a CBDC and added that legal authorization remains a prerequisite for such developments.
The Fed’s statement came as it launched FedNow, a real-time interbank payment settlement service for individuals and businesses, on July 20. According to the U.S. central bank, FedNow is unrelated to digital currencies.
