It’s incredibly disappointing that the Department of Justice has denied my FOIA request and appeal.
President Biden requested a report on how to create CBDC legislation, but the folks currently in charge have decided this information should be hidden from the public.
The issue dates back to 2022 when President Biden placed “the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.” As part of this effort, President Biden instructed the Department of Justice to put together an “assessment of whether legislative changes would be necessary to issue a United States CBDC.”
Yet, the report never saw the light of day.
When it became clear that the report wasn't going to be published, I submitted a FOIA request and members of Congress wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Still, nothing.
https://www.cato.org/blog/white-house-doj-keeps-cbdc-legislation-secret-cato-rep-hill-seek-answers
I thought the change in administration might mean I would get the documents faster given how vocally opposed President Trump has been to CBDCs.
Yet, instead, the request still ended in rejection.
In explaining the rejection, the Department of Justice says releasing the information “would harm the interests” of the government.
Given how the rise of CBDCs has increasingly become a public concern, the American people deserve to know what the Department of Justice and the White House think needs to be done to create a CBDC.
The issue dates back to 2022 when President Biden placed “the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.” As part of this effort, President Biden instructed the Department of Justice to put together an “assessment of whether legislative changes would be necessary to issue a United States CBDC.”
Yet, the report never saw the light of day.
When it became clear that the report wasn't going to be published, I submitted a FOIA request and members of Congress wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Still, nothing.
https://www.cato.org/blog/white-house-doj-keeps-cbdc-legislation-secret-cato-rep-hill-seek-answers
I thought the change in administration might mean I would get the documents faster given how vocally opposed President Trump has been to CBDCs.
Yet, instead, the request still ended in rejection.
In explaining the rejection, the Department of Justice says releasing the information “would harm the interests” of the government.
Given how the rise of CBDCs has increasingly become a public concern, the American people deserve to know what the Department of Justice and the White House think needs to be done to create a CBDC.
To their credit, the authors acknowledge that electronic payments are widely available.
So why? Why do people need a digital euro when they are already served by a wide array of options?
And there it is: Control.
The authors do well to be upfront about one risk of CBDCs. Although the only one they mention is the risk that a CBDC could undermine banks and so they propose restrictions on how much people can own.
However, there are many other risks at play with few benefits to justify the cost.
He says the "financial industry just has too much power, and would never allow a public system to compete with its products."
Again, has he really not heard of FedNow? Or for that matter, the Fed's check and ACH services?
Frankly, it's also strange that Krugman criticizes concerns about CBDCs but makes no mention of the fact that Pix was forced on people. The government forced banks to adopt it.
For anyone interested in what's happening with Brazil's actual CBDC work. The HRF CBDC Tracker has you covered.
