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A new version of a congressional defense bill does not include marijuana banking reform following negotiations between the House and Senate. But\u00a0the lead sponsor of the cannabis reform didn\u2019t go down without a fight, filing an amendment in committee to attach the marijuana language to the legislation\u2014though he ultimately didn\u2019t insist on a vote.<\/p>\n
While the House passed its initial version<\/a> of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in September with language to protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses, those provisions were not attached to a new bicameral deal filed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n This latest iteration will now go through both chambers again before potentially being sent to the president\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), chief sponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, didn\u2019t force a vote on the amendment in the House Rules Committee\u2014but its last-minute introduction sparked an impassioned debate within the panel, where multiple members expressed frustration over how Senate leadership has approached the issue.<\/p>\n At Tuesday\u2019s meeting, Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) sharply criticized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has insisted that broad justice-focused marijuana reform should be addressed before passing something like the SAFE Banking Act.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really quite know what the hell his problem is,\u201d McGovernor said, referring to Schumer. \u201cBut what he\u2019s doing is he\u2019s making it very difficult for a lot of small businesses\u2014and minority-owned businesses, too\u2014deal with the issue of cannabis to be able to move forward and to expand and to hire more people.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, who is a lead negotiator on NDAA, also expressed frustration over how Senate leadership has approached the cannabis banking issue.<\/p>\n \u201cThe impact of this, as a practical matter, to not have the SAFE Banking Act is incredibly dangerous,\u201d he said, adding that small businesses \u201cbasically have to run a cash business\u201d and they \u201ccan\u2019t do the normal banking that is available to them in the states where where marijuana is legal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI even seriously considered saying, you know, we\u2019re just gonna put it in and the Senate can deal with it,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBut the bottom line is, if the majority leader in the Senate has this opinion\u2014and it\u2019s worth noting that the minority leader has a similar position in the Senate\u2014they don\u2019t want this included, that\u2019s not the way the process works.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith and other lawmakers said that while they support the cannabis legislation, inserting it over the Senate\u2019s objections could doom the overall defense bill, a scenario they weren\u2019t willing to risk.<\/p>\n Perlmutter mused that \u201cprecisely why the majority leader, Mr. Schumer, is opposed to this is still pretty much a mystery to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes no sense because of the public safety aspect, the minority business aspect,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout the ability to have banking, many small businesses\u2014veteran-owned organizations, women-owned businesses\u2014don\u2019t have access to capital.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have heard my ire and my irritation and my anger because people are getting killed. They\u2019re getting robbed. And we\u2019re making no moves,\u201d he said. \u201cWe now have made some advancements, but this thing\u2019s been sitting there for three years.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his frustration, Perlmutter said it\u2019s not his intention to \u201cstart really throwing procedural wrenches into everything\u201d to advance the reform, and so he didn\u2019t push for a vote on the amendment in committee. That said, the congressman said he\u2019s \u201cnot raising the white flag on this thing\u201d and \u201cwe\u2019re going to keep bringing this up.\u201d<\/p>\n Perlmutter, who announced his plan to file an amendment in the Rules Committee shortly after the next of the negotiated defense bill was released earlier on Tuesday, said that he spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) about pursuing other avenues to force the Senate to finally take up his legislation.<\/p>\n As a result, I plan to file an amendment to the NDAA at the Rules Committee which would add #SAFEBanking<\/a> back to the bill. https:\/\/t.co\/PJpfZk2Umk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rep. Ed Perlmutter (@RepPerlmutter) December 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MA) applauded Perlmutter\u2019s leadership on the issue and said \u201cwe have to do whatever we can to push it forward.\u201d He added that \u201cwe\u2019ve got to find another vehicle to make that [reform] real.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith later added that the process of negotiating with the Senate on cannabis banking through NDAA resulted in \u201cprogress on this issue\u2014and the Senate is under a lot more pressure to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), who is not on the Rules Committee but who is a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said it is \u201cincredibly disappointing\u201d that the cannabis language was taken out of NDAA.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longer the Senate delays giving state-legal cannabis businesses access to basic banking services that every other legal US business has, the more it endangers public safety, stifles economic equity, and exacerbates the unsustainable patchwork of federal\/state cannabis laws,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Like many Americans, I can’t understand why the Senate is holding up help for struggling #smallbiz<\/a>, many of which are minority-owned, to leverage a bill that hasn’t been introduced. This all-or-nothing approach obstructs chances to #passprogress<\/a> and enact critical cannabis reform<\/p>\n \u2014 Dave Joyce (@RepDaveJoyce) December 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n For those disappointed in the Senate\u2019s inaction, know that there are many of us who continue to work across party lines to enact achievable and meaningful #cannabis<\/a> reform that’ll build a bipartisan consensus on this issue and improve lives and livelihoods across the country.<\/p>\n \u2014 Dave Joyce (@RepDaveJoyce) December 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Separately, the new defense bill<\/a> also excludes an NDAA amendment filed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) that would have streamlined the application process for researchers<\/a> who want to investigate cannabis as well as manufacture the plant to be used in studies. It also doesn\u2019t include a separate Schatz-led amendment to federally legalize medical marijuana for military veterans<\/a> who comply with a state program where they live.<\/p>\n \u2014 Advocates and lawmakers have been split on whether banking should advance through NDAA.<\/p>\n Supporters argue that enacting the reform is necessary for public safety, as many marijuana businesses operate on a largely cash-only basis without access to traditional financial institutions, making them targets of crime.<\/p>\n In demanding an all-or-nothing approach, the Senate is missing a critical opportunity to #PassProgress<\/a>. <\/p>\n It’s time to reform our outdated cannabis laws. <\/p>\n Let’s take this opportunity and include #SAFEBanking<\/a> in the final NDAA. pic.twitter.com\/4A1Bklojfu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rep. Ed Perlmutter (@RepPerlmutter) December 6, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n But some groups like the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) have urged leadership to hold off on banking reform until comprehensive legalization legislation that promotes social equity is approved.<\/p>\n Voices in favor of advancing marijuana banking through this defense vehicle have been wide ranging.<\/p>\n A coalition of financial associations and labor groups\u2014including the American Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and United Food and Commercial Workers Union\u2014was the latest to send a letter to Senate leadership<\/a> urging the inclusion of the SAFE Banking Act in NDAA.<\/p>\n CUNA and other credit union associations\u00a0sent a letter with a similar request<\/a> to earlier last month.<\/p>\n Bipartisan members of the Senate Armed Services Committee also recently\u00a0sent 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 Last month, a bipartisan coalition of two dozen governors implored congressional leaders to\u00a0finally 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 (IRS) 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 The secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department said last week that freeing up banks to work with state-legal marijuana businesses would \u201cof course\u201d make the IRS\u2019s job of collecting taxes easier<\/a>.<\/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 While Schumer has been adamant in his push to first pass comprehensive reform\u2014like the legalization bill he\u2019s working on alongside Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)\u2014he did signal\u00a0that he\u2019s\u00a0open to enacting banking reform through NDAA<\/a>\u00a0if it contained social equity provisions.<\/p>\n On that note, a bipartisan duo filed a bill last week that would incentivize states and local governments to expunge cannabis records in their jurisdictions<\/a>. And the Republican sponsor of that legislation, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), has been taunting Schumer in the days since to let banking reform be attached to NDAA.<\/p>\n DEA Backs White House Plan To Streamline Research On Marijuana, Psychedelics And Other Schedule I Drugs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Congressman Slams Senate After Marijuana Banking Excluded From Defense Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A new version of a congressional defense bill does not include marijuana banking reform following negotiations between the House and Senate. But\u00a0the lead sponsor of the cannabis reform didn\u2019t go down without a fight, filing an amendment in committee to attach the marijuana language to the legislation\u2014though he ultimately didn\u2019tContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":51584,"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\/51583"}],"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=51583"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51585,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51583\/revisions\/51585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Congressman Slams Senate After Marijuana Banking Excluded From Defense Bill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"