Ted Cruz introduces companion to Emmer‘s bill to exclude Fed retail CBDC issue By Cointelegraph

Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced companion legislation into the United States Senate on Wednesday for Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer’s bill that prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currency, or CBDC, directly to individuals. Emmer introduced the House bill on Jan. 18. Fellow congressman Cruz’s legislation could potentially speed up the passage or rejection of the bill by allowing it to be considered in both chambers of Congress at the same time.

Emmer, co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, motivated his bill by the concern that a retail CBDC would force consumers to open accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank. According to the lawmaker, that could “be used as a surveillance tool that Americans should never tolerate from their own government.” Emmer said in January: