US House Pushes CBDC Ban Through Defense Policy Bill

The US House of Representatives has moved to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC, embedding the measure into the country’s annual defense policy bill. The revised version of HR 3838, which sets out the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2026 fiscal year, was released Thursday by the House Rules Committee. The provision explicitly prohibits the Federal Reserve from studying, testing, or creating a digital currency, expanding earlier efforts to stop a potential Fed-issued CBDC. The decision follows the House’s passage in July of the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act , a standalone Republican-backed bill that passed by a narrow 219–210 margin. That bill now faces an uncertain path in the Senate. Because the NDAA is widely regarded as “must-pass” legislation, lawmakers frequently attach non-defense measures to ensure passage. This year’s defense package, nearly 1,300 pages long, has become the latest vehicle for the CBDC debate. House Republicans Deliver on CBDC Promise House Republican leaders had pledged to include a CBDC ban in the defense bill as part of negotiations with conservative holdouts earlier this year. The standoff temporarily froze debate on three separate crypto bills for more than nine hours — the longest such delay in House history — until leadership assured members the ban would be tied to the NDAA. Representative Tom Emmer, a long-time critic of CBDCs , reintroduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in the current Congress after an earlier version stalled last session. GOP lawmakers argue a government-backed digital dollar would allow unprecedented surveillance over Americans’ financial lives, aligning their position with President Donald Trump’s January executive order prohibiting a US CBDC. The House later passed a standalone ban in July, though it faces resistance in the Senate, where Democrats have expressed more openness to exploring CBDC frameworks. Provision Restricts Fed, Allows Stablecoin Development Under the defense bill’s new language, the Federal Reserve would be barred from offering digital assets or financial services directly to individuals and prevented from any CBDC-related research or development. However, the provision clarifies that it does not prohibit private-sector stablecoins, allowing for “any dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private.” The CBDC ban underscores deep partisan divides over the future of digital money in the United States. With Senate approval uncertain, the provision could become a flashpoint in broader negotiations over defense funding in the months ahead. The post US House Pushes CBDC Ban Through Defense Policy Bill appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .