The U.S. House of Representatives on 17 July opened debate on the Republican-backed Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, legislation that would bar the Federal Reserve from issuing or testing a central bank digital currency without explicit authorization from Congress. Supporters say the measure is needed to safeguard financial privacy and prevent the federal government from tracking or blocking individual transactions. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill called the vote "a fundamental choice about the future of money in America," asserting that a digital dollar is "not compatible with freedom." Republican colleagues Bryan Steil, Tom Emmer, Andy Barr, Dan Meuser, John W. Rose and Marlin Stutzman echoed the warning, arguing a CBDC would concentrate unprecedented authority at the federal level and discourage private-sector innovation. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who cast the lone Republican vote against an earlier procedural rule, said the chamber was "laying the groundwork" for a government-controlled digital currency after a promised CBDC ban was omitted from the National Defense Authorization Act. She maintains the Senate will strip any similar restriction should the defense bill advance. House GOP leaders said they expect the anti-CBDC bill to pass later in the day, though the proposal would still face an uncertain path in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where comparable language has previously been removed.