The US House has inserted a provision barring the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) into a nearly 1,300-page bill outlining the nation’s defense policy for fiscal year 2026.
A Thursday update to HR 3838—the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act—was released by the House Rules Committee, adding broad language prohibiting the Federal Reserve from studying or developing a digital currency.
Earlier in July, the House passed a similar Republican-backed measure, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, by a narrow margin of 219–210, though its fate in the Senate remains uncertain.
The National Defense Authorization Act and associated appropriations bills are considered “must-pass” legislation, detailing how the military is funded and how its budget is allocated.
It is common for lawmakers to attach unrelated provisions to such bills, ensuring they move forward even if they might face delays or revisions as standalone legislation.
House leaders pledge to include CBDC ban in defense legislation
Top House Republicans pledged to include a CBDC ban in the must-pass defense spending bill as part of a July deal with conservative hardliners.
A group of Republican holdouts had blocked three crypto-related bills, demanding a guaranteed CBDC ban, which delayed a vote to begin floor debate on the bills for more than nine hours—the longest such delay in House history.
At the time, passing the CBDC ban as a standalone measure seemed unlikely due to insufficient support. Debate on the crypto bills finally moved forward after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise assured lawmakers that the ban would be added to the National Defense Authorization Act.
The House later passed the CBDC ban bill on its own by a thin margin, which now faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
Measure would block Federal Reserve from issuing digital currency
The defense policy bill includes a provision that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing any digital currency or asset and prevent the central bank from offering financial products or services directly to individuals.
It also bars the Fed from “testing, studying, developing, creating, or implementing” a digital currency or asset. However, the bill makes an exception for stablecoins, specifying that it does not restrict “any dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private.”
A CBDC bill died last Congress
House Republicans have long sought to ban CBDCs.
In the previous Congressional session, party leaders attempted to pass a version of the CBDC-banning measure. The bill, known as the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, was first introduced by Representative Tom Emmer in early 2023 but failed to advance before the end of the last Congress.
Emmer has reintroduced the legislation in the current Congress, with Republicans supporting it as consistent with President Donald Trump’s January executive order prohibiting CBDCs.
