The Week in Crypto Policy - September 22, 2023

This week, a House committee advanced an anti-CBDC bill, and another discussed the role of blockchain in supply chains.

Key Insights

• The House Financial Services Committee advanced Majority Whip Tom Emmer's (R-MN) bill to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly or indirectly to individuals or from using a CBDC to implement monetary policy, on a party-line vote (27-20).
• The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce held a hearing on U.S. supply chains, which included significant discussion of how blockchain technology could strengthen U.S. supply chain resiliency.

HFSC Markup

On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee ("HFSC") met to "markup" a slate of mostly bipartisan bills aimed at addressing financial privacy and strengthening national security interests. A markup is a committee meeting where members debate, amend, and vote on moving legislation out of committee to the full House.

HFSC advanced a bill to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly or indirectly to individuals or from using a CBDC to implement monetary policy, especially without clear authorization from Congress. The vote resulted in 27 Ayes (all Republicans) and 20 Nays (all Democrats).