Crypto Law Profile
H.R. 1919 would bar Federal Reserve retail CBDC issuance, direct consumer accounts, CBDC development, and CBDC monetary-policy use. It passed the House and is pending Senate action.
The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act is the current United States federal bill associated with the earlier “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act” title. In the 119th Congress, the main House vehicle is H.R. 1919, sponsored by Rep. Tom Emmer, and the Senate companion is S. 1124, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz. The proposal would amend the Federal Reserve Act to restrict Federal Reserve banks, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Open Market Committee from issuing, developing, or using a retail central bank digital currency. As of June 4, 2026, the proposal has not been enacted. H.R. 1919 passed the House on July 17, 2025, and the same Anti-CBDC title was later incorporated into the House amendment to S. 1318, which the Senate recorded at the desk on April 29, 2026.
The bill focuses on retail CBDC authority rather than private stablecoins, commercial bank deposits, or ordinary digital assets. The engrossed H.R. 1919 text defines a central bank digital currency as digital money or monetary value denominated in the national unit of account, issued as a direct liability of the Federal Reserve System, and widely available to the general public. That definition is important because it narrows the bill’s operative restrictions to a public-facing Federal Reserve liability, not every tokenized dollar product.
The proposal would prohibit a Federal Reserve bank from offering financial products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an individual account, or issuing a CBDC or substantially similar digital asset under another name. It would also prohibit a Federal Reserve bank from offering a CBDC indirectly to individuals through a financial institution or other intermediary.
The bill would also restrict the Federal Reserve Board’s internal work on CBDCs. Section 4 of H.R. 1919 would bar the Board from testing, studying, developing, creating, or implementing a CBDC or substantially similar digital asset. The same section would prohibit the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee from using a CBDC, or a substantially similar digital asset, to implement monetary policy.
The text includes a carveout for dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private, and that fully preserves the privacy protections of U.S. coins and physical currency. This language is framed as an interpretive exception to the CBDC-development and issuance prohibitions. It does not create a broader crypto-market framework, stablecoin licensing regime, or private-token approval process.
H.R. 1919 was introduced in the House in March 2025, reported by the House Financial Services Committee, and passed by the House on July 17, 2025 by a 219-210 recorded vote. The Senate companion, S. 1124, was introduced on March 25, 2025 and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. No enacted date, effective date, or public law number was identified for H.R. 1919 or S. 1124 as of the verification date.
On April 29, 2026, the House passed an amendment to S. 1318 that included Title II, titled the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. Senate floor activity for that date records that the message on House action was received in the Senate and placed at the desk. For this profile, the canonical status is therefore “House-passed; pending Senate action,” with an editorial note that the user-facing “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act” name also refers to the 118th Congress predecessor, H.R. 5403.
Because the bill remains a proposal, the profile uses prospective language such as “would prohibit” rather than describing binding obligations. Editors should review any later Senate, conference, or public-law action before publishing an updated effective-date field.
Would prohibit Federal Reserve banks from offering financial products or services directly to individuals or maintaining individual accounts.
Would bar Federal Reserve banks from issuing a CBDC or substantially similar digital asset under another name.
Would prohibit offering a CBDC indirectly to individuals through a financial institution or other intermediary.
Would prohibit the Federal Reserve Board from testing, studying, developing, creating, or implementing a CBDC.
Would prohibit the Board and FOMC from using a CBDC or similar digital asset to implement monetary policy.
Clarifies the ban does not cover open, permissionless, private dollar-denominated currency preserving cash-like privacy.
Defines CBDC as digital money or value denominated in the national unit, a direct Fed liability, and widely available to the public.
States Congress’s view that the Fed lacks CBDC issuance authority unless Congress grants it under Article I, Section 8.
H.R. 1919 was introduced by Rep. Tom Emmer and referred to House Financial Services.
S. 1124 was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz with Budd, Cramer, and Tillis and referred to Senate Banking.
H.R. 1919 was reported amended as H. Rept. 119-92 and placed on the Union Calendar.
The House passed H.R. 1919 by a recorded vote of 219-210.
The House amendment to S. 1318 included Title II, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
The Senate recorded the message on House action for S. 1318 at the desk.
Consumers, Federal Reserve, Financial institutions, Payment intermediaries
Central bank digital currencies, Digital assets, Digital dollar
The user-provided title “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act” matches the 118th Congress predecessor, H.R. 5403. This profile covers the current 119th Congress vehicle, H.R. 1919, and the House amendment to S. 1318 that carries the Anti-CBDC title.
