Central Bank Digital Currency

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, also I congratulate the gentleman from Massachusetts for having the third child join his family in this past week. We congratulate the Auchinclosses on that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the gentleman from Massachusetts' bill, the Power of the Mint Act. I thank him for our partnership in introducing the first bipartisan bill in this House to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, or a CBDC.

We believe together that under the Constitution, that authority rests solely with Congress and the American people, not unelected bureaucrats. That is a nonpartisan view.

Something that sets Americans apart from others is that we are rebelliously independent and skeptical of Government overreach. It is a cultural tradition in this country that has been passed down from our Founders.

I compliment the gentleman for having a portrait of Alexander Hamilton in his office indicating his strong support of the Constitution's views on money.

Recently, the only time my constituents from central Arkansas call me about digital assets is when they are worried that Uncle Sam is going to use a central bank digital currency to surveil where they are spending money and how much and ultimately block them from using the banking and payments system.

Instead, we are working collaboratively on a bicameral, bipartisan basis to believe that innovation belongs in the private sector. That is why we had this coalition working in both the House Agriculture Committee and the House Financial Services Committee to craft a regulatory framework that preserves Americans' privacy, preserves American competitiveness, and puts America in the right form for a digital future in money.

Americans have that right to financial privacy, and that is why I am proud to support the gentleman from Massachusetts' bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source