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Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (passed House; not law)
Passed House May 2024 and July 2025· Law or rule
Experts disagreeEconomists or investors genuinely disagree.
A House-passed bill to permanently bar the Fed from issuing a CBDC or offering accounts to individuals; the Senate has not passed it.
See it on the Money & Finance map →How it works
Introduced by Rep. Tom Emmer in 2023, it passed the House 216–192 in May 2024 and 219–210 in July 2025, mostly along party lines. It would amend the Federal Reserve Act so the Fed could not issue a CBDC directly or through banks, hold accounts for individuals, or use one for monetary policy. A narrower, temporary ban on a Fed CBDC through 2030 did become law in July 2026, inside the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
Why it matters
Supporters see a guard against government monitoring of spending; opponents say it bans something no agency was building and closes off future options.
Facts, rules and data
House roll-call votes, the bill text (H.R. 1919 in the 119th Congress), and reporting on the CBDC provision of the 2026 housing law.
Debates and risks
Whether Congress makes the ban permanent before the 2030 sunset, and how 'substantially similar' digital assets will be defined.
Connections (3)
▸Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (passed House; not law) would permanently ban US Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)Fact, law or data
The connection
The bill would amend the Federal Reserve Act so the Fed could never issue a CBDC, or any 'substantially similar' digital asset, whether directly to the public or through banks acting as intermediaries. Unlike the July 2026 housing law, which bars a Fed CBDC only through 2030, it would have no end date.
When and why
House votes in May 2024 and July 2025; the temporary ban arrived in the July 2026 housing law.
How we know
House roll calls, the bill text, and reporting on the enacted housing law's CBDC section.
Debates and risks
Whether a permanent ban ever passes the Senate, where the stand-alone bill has stalled.
▸Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (passed House; not law) would bar retail accounts at The Federal Reserve System (the Fed)Fact, law or data
The connection
Today only banks and certain other institutions hold accounts at the Fed. The bill would forbid the Fed from offering accounts or services directly to individuals, closing off 'FedAccount' ideas floated by some Democrats and academics, and from using a CBDC to run monetary policy.
When and why
Washington; led by Rep. Tom Emmer in the House, with Senate allies such as Ted Cruz.
How we know
The bill text, H.R. 1919 in the 119th Congress, and House floor debate.
Debates and risks
Whether barring individual accounts limits future options, such as sending emergency or benefit payments directly from the Fed.
▸Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (passed House; not law) would write into law Executive order barring a US CBDC (Jan 23, 2025)Fact, law or data
The connection
An executive order lasts only until a later president revokes it. The bill would turn the order's CBDC ban into a statute binding the Fed itself. Congress went partway in July 2026, writing a Fed CBDC ban through 2030 into a housing law.
When and why
House passage on July 17, 2025, six months after the January 2025 order.
How we know
The two texts overlap closely; the 2026 law covers only the Fed and only through 2030.
Debates and risks
Whether a future administration revokes the order, and whether Congress extends the ban past 2030.