As President Donald Trump threatened to allow a government shutdown if Congress did not provide funding for his proposed wall along the Mexican border, a Republican congressman from Ohio offered up alternative routes to getting the wall built: through Internet crowdfunding or through an initial coin offering.
During an interview with NPR's Morning Edition on December 12, Rep. Warren Davidson said that he had offered what he referred to as a "modest proposal" in the form of his "Buy a Brick, Build a Wall Act." The bill, which he submitted on November 30, would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to accept monetary gifts from anyone "on the condition that it be used to plan, design, construct, or maintain a barrier along the international border between the United States and Mexico." The funds would go into an account called the "Border Wall Trust Fund," and a public website would be set up to process donations electronically.
Rep. Davidson told NPR's Steve Inskeep that the donations could come from anyone and be gathered in a number of ways."You could do it with this sort of, like, crowdfunding site," Davidson explained. "Or you could do it with blockchain—you could have Wall Coins."
Ars reached out to Davidson's office for further comment but has not received a response. Davidson, a member of the Republican Party's Freedom Caucus, is also drafting proposed legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. Davidson announced his plans at the Blockland Solutions conference in Cleveland on December 3. At the same conference, Ohio Lieutenant Governor-Elect Jon Husted spoke on the potential of using blockchain as a means for citizens to communicate with government as part of the InnovateOhio government modernization initiative.
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Ars Technica
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