US lawmaker Alex Mooney has introduced a new bill, the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act, that aims to prevent the government from launching a pilot program to test the operation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the country.
MLA’s Website Said that the bill was clearly developed to address the flaws of the pilot program. This means that the Federal Reserve would need authorization from Congress to implement a CBDC pilot program.
“The bill would prohibit the Federal Reserve from establishing, conducting, or approving a program for the purpose of testing the feasibility of issuing CBDCs.”
Congressman Mooney echoed the sentiment, saying CBDCs would endanger the liberties of law-abiding Americans and are used by authoritarian countries to crack down on voices of dissent.
Meanwhile, the bill has garnered support from 14 other Republican House members and several pro-crypto organizations such as Americans for Tax Reform and the American Blockchain Initiative.
Anti-CBDC rhetoric grows
Since the beginning of the year, opposition to the digital dollar has grown, with several legislators such as Senator Ted Cruz and Rep. Tom Emmer being outspoken opponents of the digital currency.
On February 22, Congressman Tom Emmer introduced a bill to prevent the US Federal Reserve from providing CBDCs to individual retail users. The legislator explicitly stated that the law prohibits the Fed from issuing CBDCs directly to anyone.
Additionally, several US states such as Florida and North Carolina have passed laws banning the introduction of digital dollars or preventing them from being issued within their jurisdictions.
On March 20, Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantos described CBDCs as the government’s attempt to “weaponize” the financial sector. DeSantis reiterated his anti-CBDC stance at the launch of his presidential campaign while promoting Bitcoin (BTC).
Senator Elizabeth Warren, on the other hand, advocated for CBDCs, arguing that they could help solve issues in the banking industry as they would be supported by the government. According to the legislator, the problems of the banking industry can be solved with CBDC.
Despite these conflicting views, the Federal Reserve has said on its Website that “it has not taken a decision on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and will proceed to issue a CBDC only with an authorizing legislation.”
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