Press Releases
Womack Cosponsored Bill Protecting Americans’ Financial Privacy Passes House
Washington,
May 23, 2024
Washington, DC—May 23, 2024…Today, H.R. 5403, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) is a cosponsor of the measure, which halts unelected bureaucrats from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that dismantles Americans’ right to financial privacy. Congressman Womack said, “A surveillance-style central bank digital currency is a Chinese Communist Party tool waiting to be weaponized against Americans and American businesses. This bill would prohibit unelected bureaucrats at the Federal Reserve from issuing CBDCs, protecting our free-market economy and ensuring Americans’ hard-earned money can’t be used against them. It has my strong support, and I’m pleased to see it pass the House today.” Background: A CBDC can be government-controlled, programmable money that could give the federal government not only significant transaction-level data on individuals, but also the ability to program the CBDC to suppress politically unpopular activity. The Chinese Communist Party uses a CBDC to track spending habits of its citizens. This data is being used to create a social credit system that rewards or punishes people based on their behavior. In March of this year, the White House issued Executive Order #14067 urging CBDC research and development. The corresponding report responding to that Executive Order made it clear that the Biden Administration is not only interested in creating a CBDC, but they are willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style CBDC. Bill breakdown:
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