House Freedom Caucus Insists on CBDC Ban in FISA Renewal Bill

Conservative House Republicans are intensifying their battle over government surveillance as Congress debates reauthorizing a controversial warrantless spying program this week.

House Freedom Caucus members vow to block any Section 702 renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without a permanent ban on central bank digital currency. Senate Democrats widely oppose the measure, and it stands little chance in the upper chamber.

The impasse endangers Congress's ability to meet a mid-June deadline for the law, which the Trump administration calls essential for national security.

"If the Senate thinks they're going to keep rolling over us, it's just not going to happen," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said at a late April news conference. He referred to the Senate's resistance to adding a CBDC ban to a FISA bill.

Both House and Senate approved a 45-day FISA extension in April to buy time for talks. House GOP privacy advocates opposed the brief measure for lacking a CBDC prohibition.

"CBDC can still make it across the finish line. Let's just push on," the Texas Republican said. "The Senate will respond to the people if they push hard enough. I'm positive on it."

GOP privacy hawks say a CBDC ban provides a key safeguard against the Federal Reserve launching a digital currency that could track and restrict Americans' financial dealings.

"They don't want the government monitoring their bank accounts, telling them what they can buy, when they can buy it and when they're not allowed to buy," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said at a news conference. He spoke of his constituents' fears over a government digital token.

The group has tried attaching a CBDC ban to multiple bills over the past year but failed to secure a permanent prohibition for President Donald Trump's signature.

Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh told his confirmation hearing he would not issue a CBDC in his term, deeming it a "bad policy choice."

The CBDC effort fits a larger conservative Republican campaign against surveillance expansion.

"Americans don’t want Big Brother in their cars, their bank accounts, or their homes," a House Freedom Caucus spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "The gloves are coming off before FISA expires on June 12."

Roy, the caucus policy chief, seeks to repeal a Biden-era rule requiring federal agencies to mandate impaired driver technology in new cars. The tech could disable vehicles upon detecting drunk driving, but regulators have yet to draft it.

"Do you really want to put that kind of data collection mandated inside every car? At what point is there just literally no privacy at all anywhere?" Roy asked at a late April hearing. He backed adding a "kill switch" repeal to FISA extension legislation.

GOP privacy advocates also want a judicial warrant requirement in the FISA bill. The law aims at foreigners abroad on U.S. platforms, but it captures their talks with Americans for review.

Democratic privacy advocates have long called for warrants to collect data on Americans.

The Trump administration first pursued an 18-month clean extension but met resistance from conservative and progressive privacy critics.

"We're not going to pass something that's a long-term, clean reauthorization," Roy said. "I think that's been taken off the table. We've demonstrated that, and we're going to get reforms."