“I’m going to put the entire U.S. budget on blockchain so that any American — every American can look at every budget item in the entire budget anytime they want 24 hours a day,” Kennedy said Sunday during a rally in Michigan.
Such public disclosure of spending would, in theory, increase transparency and accountability into how the federal government spends taxpayer money.
But moving government transactions to the blockchain would be a Herculean task. There’s also already some visibility into federal spending through the legislation that controls it, and government watchdogs such as the Government Accountability Office and inspectors general can audit departments.
“We’re gonna have 300 million eyeballs on our budget, and if somebody is spending $16,000 for a toilet seat, everybody’s gonna know about it,” Kennedy said, appearing to reference reports including the infamous $640 the Pentagon paid per toilet seat in the 1980s.
Kennedy has embraced cryptocurrencies, accepting campaign donations in bitcoin and touting plans to back the U.S. dollar with bitcoin if he’s elected president.
But Kennedy has also said he opposes plans for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), as have many Republicans including former President Trump.
While the Federal Reserve is currently “exploring” a CBDC, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will not create one without a directive from Congress.
The Independent firebrand has described himself as the only pro-crypto presidential candidate in a race dominated by the rematch between Trump and President Biden.
Kennedy is “strongly supportive of crypto,” according to an analysis by Stand With Crypto, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit launched by grassroots advocates and the crypto exchange giant Coinbase that “champions for clear, common-sense regulations for the crypto industry.”
The advocacy group rates Trump as “supportive” of crypto and Biden as “against” it, although the incumbent did issue a 2022 executive order calling for “the responsible development of payment innovations and digital assets” that will help the U.S. maintain its leadership in global financial markets.
The Hill’s Taylor Giorno has more here.
