US Lawmakers Push for Permanent CBDC Ban, Not Temporary

A permanent CBDC ban — not a temporary one — is what 29 US lawmakers are demanding this week, drawing a sharp line in the sand over a provision buried inside a sprawling housing bill that, in their view, barely delays the problem rather than solving it.

Why Lawmakers Say a 2031 Deadline Is Worthless

Congressman Michael Cloud fired off a letter on Friday addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, co-signed by 28 other members of Congress. The message was blunt: a Central Bank Digital Currency must never happen in the United States — not in 2031, not ever. "We write to you to express the dire need to prohibit a Central Bank Digital Currency from ever happening in the United States," Cloud wrote, according to the permanent CBDC ban letter published last week.

The trigger for their frustration? The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — a 300-page bill released Monday by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Tucked inside HR 6644 is an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act that would bar the Fed from issuing a CBDC. Great, right? Except the ban only runs until 2031. After that, apparently, the door swings open again.

That's the part lawmakers can't live with. A prohibition with an expiration date, they argued, isn't a prohibition at all.

A CBDC is inherently anti-American and a looming issue we must put an end to before it is too late.

What Does 'Watered-Down' Mean Here?

What is the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act and why does it matter?

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act — HR 1919, introduced by Congressman Tom Emmer back in June 2025 — is what the dissenters want restored. That bill passed the full House on July 17 but has stalled in the Senate ever since. Cloud's coalition argued the housing act amendment dilutes Emmer's original bill considerably: for one thing, it doesn't stop the Federal Reserve from studying a CBDC. Call it a loophole in legislative clothing.

"The strong language of H.R.1919 must be restored," the letter stated. The lawmakers warned that a CBDC would expose Americans to "unconstitutional financial surveillance" and hand the unelected Federal Reserve "unprecedented power" over individual finances — language that's hard to walk back once it's in the congressional record.

Senator Mike Lee tried a separate path. His No CBDC Act (S 464), introduced in February 2025, would prohibit both the Federal Reserve and the Treasury from issuing a CBDC. It also stalled. Two bills, one goal, zero Senate traction so far.

Is Congress Actually Close to Stopping a US CBDC?

Closer than before, but not there yet. The political energy against a US CBDC is real — 29 co-signers on a letter is not nothing, and the House has already passed anti-CBDC legislation twice in different forms. The Senate is the graveyard here, and Cloud's letter is essentially a lobbying effort aimed at the upper chamber before HR 6644 advances any further.

The bigger picture: this isn't just about the Federal Reserve. It's about who controls the financial surveillance architecture of the United States for the next generation. If lawmakers let a 2031 deadline stand, they're betting that the political will to fight this again in five years will somehow be stronger than it is today. That's a bet worth examining carefully.