Rep. Warren Davidson just passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act No digital dollar No programmable money

Congressman Warren Davidson just threw a wrench into the gears of the central bank digital currency machine. The Ohio Republican introduced and passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, a bill designed to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a programmable digital dollar. The legislation is now on the books in the House. It’s not a resolution. It’s not a press release. It’s a direct strike against the infrastructure being quietly built to monitor, restrict, and control how Americans spend their money.

The bill prohibits the Fed from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals. It also bars the central bank from using a digital currency to implement monetary policy or track transactions. Davidson called CBDCs a “dystopian surveillance tool” and warned that they would “corrupt money into a tool for coercion and control.” He’s not alone. Rep. Thomas Massie co-sponsored the bill. Both men are calling for a full ban on the development, testing, and deployment of any central bank digital currency.

The Federal Reserve has been researching CBDCs since 2020. It has not committed to launching one, but it has hired crypto architects and published white papers outlining potential frameworks. The San Francisco Fed even posted a job listing for a “senior digital currency developer” in 2023. The groundwork is being laid. The code is being written. The public has not been consulted.

Davidson’s bill is a firewall. It’s designed to preserve cash as a legal form of payment and prevent the government from embedding surveillance into the monetary system. The legislation passed the House in May 2024. It now moves to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. But the message is clear. There are still lawmakers willing to stand between the people and the machine.

The bill’s opponents have been quiet. No one wants to go on record supporting programmable money that can be frozen, tracked, or denied based on behavior. But silence is not neutrality. Every member of Congress who refuses to co-sponsor this bill is making a choice. And that choice is being watched.