Grand Canyon Times

U.S. Reps. Ruben Gallego (AZ-D-3) and Greg Stanton (AZ-D-4) voted against a bill that would ban the Federal Reserve from establishing a Central Bank Digital Currency.

192 Democrats voted against the bill, while 213 Republicans voted for it.

While U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-D-7) abstained from voting, Reps. Elijah Crane (AZ-R-2), Andy Biggs (AZ-R-5), Juan Ciscomani (AZ-R-6), Paul Gosar (AZ-R-9), Debbie Lesko (AZ-R-8), and David Schweiker (AZ-R-1) voted in favor of the bill. 

This bill prohibits a Federal Reserve bank from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency (i.e., a digital dollar) directly or indirectly to an individual. Further, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is prohibited from using a central bank digital currency to implement monetary policy or from issuing a central bank digital currency. 

The Biden Administration issued an Executive Order in 2022 to look into the development of a central bank digital currency. A report from the Federal Reserve in 2022 also detailed the Biden Administration’s interest in developing a central bank digital currency.