Congress moves to permanently block Fed from issuing digital currency
H.R. 10017 — Permanent CBDC Ban Act · Filed by Michael Cloud (R-TX) · 33 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 3, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill permanently prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It does so by striking a subsection of the Federal Reserve Act that currently permits or regulates CBDC issuance, eliminating the Fed's authority to develop digital currency. Citizens benefit by retaining the current payment system structure; opponents argue it forecloses a potential modernization tool.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a permanent statutory bar on Federal Reserve authority to issue CBDC. It is a straightforward prohibition, not a subsidy, carve-out, or procedural measure.
What the text implies
- Permanently forecloses future Congressional reconsideration of CBDC without passing new legislation to repeal this ban, raising the bar for any future digital currency policy.
- May affect the Fed's ability to participate in international CBDC coordination or interoperability standards, potentially limiting U.S. influence in global digital payment infrastructure.
- Leaves private stablecoins and cryptocurrency unaffected, potentially accelerating private-sector digital currency adoption and reducing central bank monetary policy transmission mechanisms.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill prevents a potential government-controlled digital currency, which some citizens view as a privacy and financial autonomy protection; others see it as blocking a modernization that could improve payment efficiency and financial inclusion. The civic trade-off is genuine: centralized digital currency poses surveillance and control risks, but also offers potential benefits in speed, accessibility, and cross-border settlement.
Who stands to gain
- cryptocurrency and blockchain companies
- private stablecoin issuers
- traditional payment processors and banking networks
Named in the bill
Federal Reserve System, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Act, Section 16A
Where it stands
33 cosponsors: 33 Republicans.
- Aug 3, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Aug 3, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (219 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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