CBDC Fight Escalates As US Lawmakers Call For Permanent Ban

A standalone bill that went nowhere in the Senate is now at the center of a congressional fight over how far the government should go to block a digital dollar — and a group of 29 lawmakers wants the answer to be: all the way.

A Housing Bill Quietly Stirs A Currency Debate

The friction started with an unlikely source. Senate lawmakers this week released the “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act,” a 300-page piece of legislation focused on housing policy.

Buried inside it was an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act that would bar the central bank from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency — but only until 2031.

For US Congressman Michael Cloud and 28 colleagues, that deadline is the problem. On Friday, they sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying the restriction has to be permanent or it means nothing.

“A prohibition of a Central Bank Digital Currency must be permanent,” the letter stated. The group warned that a CBDC would hand the Fed unchecked control over Americans’ money and open the door to government surveillance of private financial activity.

The Stronger Bill That Lost Steam

The letter points directly at Congressman Tom Emmer’s Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, known as HR 1919, introduced in June 2025. That bill cleared the House on July 17 but stalled before receiving full Senate approval.

The lawmakers argue the housing bill’s CBDC language amounts to a diluted version of Emmer’s legislation — one that strips out the tougher provisions.

Critically, the housing bill would still allow the central bank to study and research a CBDC, something HR 1919 would have blocked.

“The strong language of H.R.1919 must be restored,” the letter said. A separate measure, the No CBDC Act introduced by Senator Mike Lee in February 2025, also sought a full prohibition but has not advanced.

The difference between a temporary freeze and a full ban may seem like a technicality. It isn’t. A 2031 cutoff gives future administrations and Federal Reserve officials room to revisit the question once the political climate shifts.

The 29 signatories argue that leaves the door open — and that’s exactly what they want closed. Cloud’s letter called a digital dollar “inherently anti-American,” citing civil liberties concerns and the concentration of financial power in an unelected institution.

Whether Congress takes up a standalone permanent ban or rewrites the housing bill’s amendment remains unclear, but the letter signals this fight is far from settled.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView