Rep. Keith Self Moves to 'Fix the Bill' With CBDC Ban Before Key Hearing

In brief

• Rep. Keith Self submitted an amendment on Tuesday to ban central bank digital currencies in the National Defense Authorization Act.
• The amendment would prohibit the Federal Reserve from testing, developing, or implementing a CBDC or similar digital assets.
• A House leadership aide told The Hill that efforts to include the ban “fell apart amid negotiations over the bipartisan housing package.”

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub.

Discover SCENE

Rep. Keith Self (R., Texas) on Tuesday filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would bar a U.S. central-bank digital currency as the House Rules Committee prepares to decide whether it advances to a floor vote.

“Promises were broken to include this language in the NDAA,” Self tweeted. “My amendment would fix the bill.”

House GOP leaders plan to pass the defense bill late Wednesday afternoon, according to a Politico report, citing anonymous sources.

A CBDC is a digital currency issued, regulated, and backed by a country’s central bank, comparable to fiat currency.

Self’s amendment, titled “Anti-CBDC Surveillance State,” would prohibit the Federal Reserve from testing, developing, or implementing a CBDC or “any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other name or label.”

It would also bar Federal Reserve banks from offering financial products directly to individuals or maintaining accounts on their behalf.

The amendment also carves out exceptions for “dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private,” preserving privacy protections similar to those of physical cash.

The National Defense Authorization Act is the annual legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President authorizing the Department of Defense’s budget, spending, and policy for the year ahead.

Broken promises

House GOP leaders unveiled the 3,086-page defense bill Sunday without the CBDC ban language that Speaker Mike Johnson had reportedly promised conservatives.

The move triggered pushback from hard-line Republicans who view the omission as a broken commitment on a key policy priority.

Self told Fox Business that conservatives were promised, “an anti-Central Bank digital currency language, authored by Tom Emmer, the whip, would be in the NDAA.”

After reviewing the bill for several hours, he confirmed it wasn’t included.

“We have to pass an NDAA, because it’s one of the must-pass bills we have in Congress,” Self said. “We’ve got to fix it and get it passed.”

Other Republicans raised the same concerns as Self, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) noting that she supports crypto but will not support any system that lets the government cut off Americans’ ability to control, buy, or sell with their own money.

“CBDC inserts the government between you and your money then sets conditions on your access to it,” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) tweeted on Tuesday.

“The President’s EO banning CBDC is great, but we need and were promised a law,” he added.

In January, President Trump signed his first crypto-related executive order, which prohibits federal agencies from establishing, issuing, or promoting CBDCs in the U.S. or abroad, citing risks to financial stability, individual privacy, and national sovereignty.

A House leadership aide told The Hill that efforts to include the CBDC ban “fell apart amid negotiations over the bipartisan housing package,” adding that securing a deal on the digital currency restriction “was not something that was ultimately going to be acceptable to our members.”