Senate leadership has received yet another letter urging that marijuana banking reform be enacted as part of defense legislation\u2014this time from financial associations and labor groups.<\/p>\n
The American Bankers Association (ABA), Credit Union National Association (CUNA), United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and 11 other organizations sent the letter on Tuesday, imploring members to adopt language protecting banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).<\/p>\n
The House has already attached language from the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act<\/a> in its version of NDAA, and the groups want the Senate to follow the chamber\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n \u201cOur organizations have banded together because the status quo is untenable for workers, communities, ancillary businesses and law-abiding financial institutions,\u201d the new letter states. They added that enacting the banking reform would \u201calso provide legitimate business with access to necessary insurance products and protections that are afforded to other businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSAFE Banking is germane to NDAA because it bolsters national security by keeping bad actors out of the cannabis industry and the financial system, while also supporting the thousands of veterans who rely on the cannabis industry for medical treatment, employment, or entrepreneurial opportunities,\u201d the letter continues.<\/p>\n ABA joined 13 groups in a new letter supporting the #SAFEBanking<\/a> Act, which will bolster public safety in the US. It\u2019s time for @SenateDems<\/a> @SenateGOP<\/a> to follow the House\u2019s lead in passing this bill to end the legal limbo over banking cannabis: https:\/\/t.co\/B72JpDUYun<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 American Bankers Association (@ABABankers) December 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Other signatories on this latest letter include the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association, the American Land and Title Association, the National Bankers Association, the Electronic Transaction Association and the National Association of REALTORS.<\/p>\n \u201cTime is of the essence. Each day we go without SAFE Banking, workers in cannabis related businesses(CRB), many of whom are veterans, are put in danger due to cash intensive transactions,\u201d the groups said. \u201cWe understand that creating a true federal regulatory framework for cannabis is a multi-step process. However, we strongly believe that the SAFE Banking Act is a critical first step to ensure that legal cannabis marketplaces are safe, legal, and transparent.\u201d<\/p>\n CUNA and other credit union associations sent a letter with a similar request<\/a> to key Senate committee leadership earlier last month.<\/p>\n While the Senate has yet to independently add the banking reform language to its version of NDAA, supporters want to see the provisions\u00a0adopted by negotiators in conference for the final legislation sent to President Joe Biden\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n Bipartisan members of the Senate Armed Services Committee also recently sent their own letter urging leaders<\/a>\u00a0to include the SAFE Banking Act in the final NDAA. Shortly thereafter, U.S. senators representing Colorado\u00a0made the same request in a separate letter<\/a>.<\/p>\n The SAFE Banking Act has been approved in some form in the House five times now, but it\u2019s so far languished in the Senate. Stakeholders have held out hope that the chamber would advance the legislation with a Democratic majority, but some key players like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have insisted on passing comprehensive legalization\u2014like a reform bill he\u2019s finalizing\u2014first.<\/p>\n That said, Schumer has signaled that he\u2019s\u00a0open to enacting banking reform through NDAA<\/a>\u00a0if it contained social equity provisions.<\/p>\n Last month, a bipartisan coalition of two dozen governors implored congressional leaders to finally enact marijuana banking reform<\/a>\u00a0through the large-scale defense legislation.<\/p>\n A group of small marijuana business owners also recently made the case that the incremental banking policy change\u00a0could actually help support social equity efforts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rodney Hood, a board member of the National Credit Union Administration,\u00a0wrote in a recent Marijuana Moment op-ed<\/a>\u00a0that legalization is an inevitability\u2014and it makes the most sense for government agencies to get ahead of the policy change to resolve banking complications now.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, an official with the Internal Revenue Service said that the agency would like to \u201cget paid,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and it\u2019d help if the marijuana industry had access to banks like companies in other legal markets so they could more easily comply with tax laws.<\/p>\n Federal data shows that\u00a0many financial institutions remain hesitant<\/a>\u00a0to take on cannabis companies as clients, however, which is likely due to the fact that the plant is a strictly controlled substance under federal law.<\/p>\n Read the new letter<\/a> to Senate leadership on marijuana banking in the NDAA below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Click to access safe-banking-ancillary-business-letter-11302021.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n New York City Opens First Safe Consumption Sites For Illegal Drugs In The U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Financial, Labor And Insurance Groups Call For Marijuana Banking Reform As Part Of Defense Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Senate leadership has received yet another letter urging that marijuana banking reform be enacted as part of defense legislation\u2014this time from financial associations and labor groups. The American Bankers Association (ABA), Credit Union National Association (CUNA), United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and 11 other organizations sent the letterContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51492"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51493,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51492\/revisions\/51493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Financial, Labor And Insurance Groups Call For Marijuana Banking Reform As Part Of Defense Bill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"