Senate Clears ROAD To Housing Bill With CBDC Ban In 85-5 Vote

• The US Senate passed the ROAD to Housing Act in an 85-5 vote, which also features a CBDC ban until the end of 2030.

Proposals for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) have always faced an overwhelming public opposition due to various concerns. None other than US President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh have spoken against this type of digital asset due to its potential to be used by the powers that be for financial surveillance and control.

ROAD to Housing Act with CBDC Ban Heads for Final Vote in the House

On Monday, an overwhelming number of Senators passed H.R. 6644, titled “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.” The legislation included a ban on CBDC, indicating that lawmakers have heeded public demand.

The legislation breezed through in the Senate under an 85-5 vote, positioning it for a final vote in the House of Representatives. If Trump signs it into law, it would effectively seal the CBDC ban he earlier issued under an Executive Order (EO).

Bessent confirmed that Trump’s stance against CBDC is resolute despite a claim by Timothy Massad, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), that the US government continues to be an active participant in a major CBDC project despite Trump’s ban.

“This administration has been very clear: There will be no Central Bank Digital Currency, which would be the first step toward tracking,” said Bessent last month. “So, we have taken that off the table, we have passed stablecoin legislation – bipartisan.”

The Bill’s Key Provisions

The ROAD to Housing Act is a bipartisan effort to improve Americans’ access to affordable housing. It aims to ease rent prices, expand financing opportunities, and reduce the bureaucratic red tape in the sector. A key point of contention in the legislation is its provision on CBDC.

CBDC advocates in Congress tried to block the prohibition, especially Senator Elizabeth Warren. Her side argued that a Fed-issued digital currency is vital to ensuring financial inclusion, reducing transaction costs, and eliminating the need for risky and unregulated cryptocurrencies.

The pending housing bill would prevent the US central bank from developing or issuing a CBDC until December 31, 2030. It supplements H.R.1919, titled “Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.”

The latter offers tougher safeguards against the creation and deployment of CBDC. It also expands the ban to digital assets that are “substantially similar under any other name or label” to close possible loopholes that would allow the Fed’s issuance of a virtual currency functioning as a wrapped version of a CBDC.

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