Memphis Standard

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-D) voted against a bill that would ban the Federal Reserve from establishing a Central Bank Digital Currency.

192 Democrats voted against the bill, while 213 Republicans voted for it.

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) directly or indirectly to an individual. 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 issuing a central bank digital currency. 

“My bill ensures the United States digital currency policy remains in the hands of the American people – not the Administrative State – so that any development of a digital money will reflect our American values: privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness,” U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN-6) who sponsored the bill said before the vote.

“This legislation affirms that if the federal government seeks to create a digital version of the U.S. dollar, they can only do so with the explicit authorization from Congress. They can do that. But they have got to get authorization from Congress and they’ve got to make it open, permissionless, and private,” he said. 

The Biden Administration issued an Executive Order in 2022 to look into the development of a central bank digital currency. A report from the Federal Reserve in 2022 also detailed the Biden Administration’s interest in developing a central bank digital currency.