Chairman Burgess Opening Statement on H.R. 5403, 4763, 192
As prepared for delivery:
Good afternoon.
When House Republicans made our Commitment to America, we promised to deliver a government that’s accountable. Safeguarding our constitutional freedoms and restoring the people’s voice were essential components of that promise. As the size and scope of the government continues to expand—something President Biden’s leadership has only accelerated—we must do everything we can to ensure the voices of everyday Americans are not silenced by the state that is meant to serve them.
Recently, we’ve witnessed modern governments abuse their authority and weaponize their financial system against their own citizens. In China, the CCP uses a Central Bank Digital Currency to track spending habits and establish a social credit system intended to further restrict the behavior of the Chinese People. But it isn’t just communist regimes, one of our greatest allies has utilized similar means of financial restriction. In 2022, Justin Trudeau’s government in Canada froze individuals’ bank accounts for participating in the trucker convoy protests.
This appetite for financial surveillance is gaining a stronghold right here at home. Notably, the White House issued Executive Order #14067 urging Central Bank Digital Currency research and development. In a corresponding report, the Biden Administration doubled down and made it clear they were willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style CBDC.
These means of financial surveillance and domination belong on the pages of an Orwell novel or a science fiction script. They are wholly antithetical to our shared American values. Congress must act to ensure our constituents’ hard-earned money cannot be used to further encroach on their freedoms or punish them for speaking their minds. H.R. 5403, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, would prohibit unelected bureaucrats from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency—denying them a critical building block in this would-be dystopian nightmare.
Sadly, that isn’t the only effort to stifle Americans’ voices. The left’s increased enthusiasm for including illegal immigrants in the elections process threatens to dilute the vote of citizens and their role in determining the course of our democracy. In keeping with House Republicans’ concern on this issue, the Committee will consideration legislation meant to address this misguided trend within Washington D.C. itself.
Specifically, H.R. 192 would prohibit noncitizens from voting in D.C. local elections for public office, including any ballot initiative or referendum. In taking up this measure, Congress is satisfying its constitutional role in relation to the District. Americans deserve to have confidence in our election system, and confidence in knowing that only legal American citizens are casting their vote in elections here in this country—especially in our capital of all places.
Finally, the Committee will hear testimony on H.R. 4763, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act. It’s past time for Congress to establish a regulatory framework that provides clarity and certainty to the digital assets marketplace. We cannot continue to allow unaccountable bureaucrats to fill this void. H.R. 4763 would set up that framework and offer much-needed regulatory clarity for the digital asset ecosystem to thrive in the United States. The bill before us today constitutes a bipartisan solution to this problem and demonstrates regular order and committee collaboration at its finest. It’s a privilege to consider it.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and the opportunity to advance meaningful legislation that keeps the promises we made to the American people.
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