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The White House’s exploration of a government-backed digital dollar is raising an implicit question that has received little attention: What role does Congress have in the decision?

Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, have said the central bank wouldn’t issue a digital dollar without support from Congress, but that leaves open at least the possibility that the Fed could move forward with buy-in that falls short of legislation. And that, in turn, raises a new question: What would buy-in have to look like to satisfy the Fed?

Two dozen mostly rural states are set to receive a greater share of federal research money from the recently enacted science and technology funding law as lawmakers, experts and researchers push to support talented scientists outside of major research hubs such as those in California, Massachusetts and New York. 

Aurora has been awarded federal grant money to develop an online portal where people could report incidents to the Aurora Police Department.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, announced this week that the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Program awarded Aurora and Elgin a total of $67,621.

The federal program awards money each year for a range of program areas, including law enforcement, crime prevention and education, technology improvement, mental health programs and more.

The city of Joliet was awarded almost $60,000 in federal funding to support efforts to prevent and fight crime.

On Sept. 23, the city received a $59,961 grant from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. The grants are awarded nationwide to local governments to support activities that prevent and control crime based on state and local needs.

JOLIET – The Department of Justice awarded the City of Joliet nearly $60,000 today in an effort to control crime locally.

The money comes from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Program and is designed to support law enforcement programs including law enforcement, crime prevention and education, technology improvement, mental health programs, and more.

Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) announced the grants Thursday. Joliet will receive $59,961 from the grant. Aurora will also receive $67,621 from the program.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed a proposal meant to put the government more squarely in the digital identity space out of committee on Wednesday. The next stop for the legislation is the Senate floor.

The proposal was originally introduced in 2020 by Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and reintroduced by Foster along with Reps. John Katko (R-N.Y.), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Barry Loudermilk, (R-Ga.) in 2021.