Mooney is calling for something titled the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act, which aims to prevent the US Federal Reserve from launching a pilot program that would test the operability of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the US financial system.
Mooney’s bill would close the pilot program “loophole” that could allow the Fed to conduct a test run of a CBDC without congressional approval.
The move is expected to stop the development of the digital dollar in its tracks. “CBDCs are not about innovation, they are about control,” Mooney explained.
The Federal Reserve said in April it had not decided to issue a CBDC and would not do so without clear support from Congress.
Republicans are voicing concerns about increased government surveillance and the intrusion of privacy if the Federal Reserve decides to implement the digital dollar.
If money becomes completely digital and is issued and controlled solely by the government, then, critics say, a CBDC would give federal officials control over the money flowing in and out of people’s accounts and a window into sensitive financial data.
As of March 1, 65 countries are in the advanced stage of CBDC development, with more than 20 central banks having launched their pilots, including China, Japan, Russia and Brazil, according to international affairs think tank Atlantic Council.