The United States House Financial Services Committee is moving forward with legislation aimed at preventing the issuance of a central bank digital currency.
According to an announcement from chairman Patrick McHenry, the Committee will mark up two bills about a potential digital dollar on Sep. 20. Markups are sessions in which lawmakers discuss the details of a bill. It is a crucial step before a legislation moves to the House floor.
One of the bills is the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act, or H.R. 3712, that prohibits the Federal Reserve from initiating pilot programs to test CBDCs without approval from Congress. The legislation was introduced by Representative Alex Mooney in May.
The Fed recently denied any decision on whether to issue a CBDC, claiming it “would only proceed with the issuance of a CBDC with an authorizing law.” However, the Federal Reserve of San Francisco has sought to fill technical positions for a CBDC project over the past few months, indicating that the digital dollar remains on the table.
#NEW: Chairman @PatrickMcHenry announces a markup of legislation to strengthen American national security and prevent the issuance of a central bank digital currency.
The second legislation is an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act, prohibiting Fed banks from offering certain products or services directly to an individual, along with prohibiting the use of CBDCs for monetary policy, and for other purposes.
“A Federal reserve bank shall not offer a central bank digital currency, or any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other name or label, indirectly to an individual through a financial institution or other intermediary,” reads the bill.
The prospect of a digital dollar has stirred controversy in the United States. Presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ron DeSantis have spoken out against the establishment of a CBDC in the country, citing financial privacy concerns. Supporters of CBDCs claim it would help the United States to keep the dollar’s global relevance, as well as boost cryptocurrencies adoption.
Ms Sultana also said she was “resigning” from the Labour Party after 14 years.
She was suspended as a Labour MP shortly after they came to power last summer for voting against the government maintaining the two-child benefit cap.
Several others from the left of the party, including Mr Corbyn, were also suspended for voting against the government, and also remained as independent MPs.
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However, Ms Sultana was still a member of the Labour Party – until now.
Mr Corbyn has previously said the independent MPs who were suspended from Labour would “come together” to provide an “alternative.
The other four are: Iqbal Mohamed, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan and Adnan Hussain.
Mr Corbyn and the other four independents have not said if they are part of the new party Ms Sultana announced.
In her announcement, Ms Sultana said she would vote to abolish the two-child benefit cap again and also voted against scrapping the winter fuel payment for most pensioners.
Ms Sultana also voted against the government’s welfare bill this week, which was heavily watered down as Sir Keir Starmer tried to prevent a major rebellion from his own MPs.
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On Wednesday, Ms Sultana spoke passionately against Palestine Action being proscribed as a terror organisation – but MPs eventually voted for it to be.
She said to proscribe it is “a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity and suppress the truth”.
Ms Sultana said they were founding the new party because “Westminster is broken but the real crisis is deeper – just 50 families now own more wealth than half the UK population”.
She called Reform leader Nigel Farage “a billionaire-backed grifter” leading the polls “because Labour has completely failed to improve people’s lives.
Image: Ms Sultana called Nigel Farage a ‘billionaire-backed grifter’. Pic: PA
The MP, who has spoken passionately about Gaza, added: “Across the political establishment, from Farage to Starmer, they smear people of conscience trying to stop a genocide in Gaza as terrorists.
“But the truth is clear: this government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.
“We are not going to take this anymore.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “In just 12 months, this Labour government has boosted wages, delivered an extra four million NHS appointments, opened 750 free breakfast clubs, secured three trade deals and four interest rate cuts lowering mortgage payments for millions.
“Only Labour can deliver the change needed to renew Britain.”