Rep. Keith Self to ‘fix the bill’ with CBDC ban ahead of key hearing

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

“Promises to include this language in the NDAA have not been kept,” Self tweeted. “My amendment would fix the bill.”

Republican Party leaders in the House of Representatives plan to approve the defense bill late Wednesday afternoon Politics reportciting anonymous sources.

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

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

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

The amendment also provides exceptions for “dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private,” while maintaining 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 that authorizes the Department of Defense’s budget, expenditures, and policies for the coming year.

Broken promises

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

The move drew opposition from hardline Republicans, who see the omission as a broken commitment to a key policy priority.

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

After looking at the bill for several hours he confirmed it was not included.

“We need to pass an NDAA because it is one of the bills we have in Congress,” Self said. “We need to fix it and get it approved.”

Other Republicans expressed 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 puts the government between you and your money and then imposes 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 a law and we were promised it,” he added.

In January, President Trump signed his first crypto-related one executive orderwhich 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.

An assistant to the leadership of the House of Representatives said this The hill that efforts to include the CBDC ban “failed during negotiations on the bipartisan housing package,” adding that reaching a deal on the digital currency restriction “was not something that would ultimately be acceptable to our members.”