H.R. 5403

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5403 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5403

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 3, 2024

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to prohibit the Federal reserve banks 
from offering certain products or services directly to an individual, 
to prohibit the use of central bank digital currency for monetary 
policy, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS RELATING TO CERTAIN 
PRODUCTS OR SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND PROHIBITION ON 
DIRECTLY ISSUING A CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.

Section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
``(18) A Federal reserve bank shall not--
``(A) offer products or services directly to an 
individual;
``(B) maintain an account on behalf of an 
individual; or
``(C) issue a central bank digital currency, or any 
digital asset that is substantially similar under any 
other name or label, directly to an individual.''.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS INDIRECTLY ISSUING A 
CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.

Section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act, as amended by section 2, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(19)(A) A Federal reserve bank shall not offer a central 
bank digital currency, or any digital asset that is 
substantially similar under any other name or label, indirectly 
to an individual through a financial institution or other 
intermediary.
``(B) Subparagraph (A) may not be construed to prohibit any 
dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and 
private, and fully preserves the privacy protections of United 
States coins and physical currency.''.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY FOR 
MONETARY POLICY.

Section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act, as amended by section 3, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(20) Prohibition on the use of central bank digital 
currency for monetary policy.--The Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee 
shall not use any central bank digital currency, or any digital 
asset that is substantially similar under any other name or 
label, to implement monetary policy.''.

SEC. 5. CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.

(a) In General.--The Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 16 the following:

``SEC. 16A. CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.

``(a) In General.--The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System may not, absent Congressional authorization, design, build, 
develop, establish, or issue a central bank digital currency.
``(b) Central Bank Digital Currency Defined.--In this section, the 
term `central bank digital currency' means a form of digital money or 
monetary value, denominated in the national unit of account, that is a 
direct liability of the Federal Reserve System.''.
(b) Treasury.--Chapter 3 of subtitle I of title 31 of the United 
States Code is amended by inserting after section 316 the following:

``SEC. 317. CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.

``(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury may not, absent 
Congressional authorization, direct the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System to design, build, develop, establish, or issue a 
central bank digital currency.
``(b) Central Bank Digital Currency Defined.--In this section, the 
term `central bank digital currency' means a form of digital money or 
monetary value, denominated in the national unit of account, that is a 
direct liability of the central bank.''.

SEC. 6. PROTECTION FOR OPEN, PERMISSIONLESS, AND PRIVATE CURRENCY.

This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not apply to any 
dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private, 
and fully preserves the privacy protections of United States coins and 
physical currency.

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System should not be permitted to develop, create, or 
implement a central bank digital currency, or use any such tool to 
implement monetary policy.

SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY TESTING.

Section 16A of the Federal Reserve Act, as added by section 5, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Prohibition on Central Bank Digital Currency Testing.--Unless 
authorized by an Act of Congress enacted after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System and the Federal reserve banks may not establish, carry out, or 
approve a program intended to test the practicability of issuing a 
central bank digital currency, including by partnering or coordinating 
with a private sector entity to carry out such a program.''.

Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2024.

Attest:

KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

Clerk.