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The House sponsor of a marijuana banking bill says that he sees signs that the Senate will finally act during the lame duck session\u2014but he is cautioning that he\u2019s \u201cbeen disappointed before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), who is retiring after this session, told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday that he\u2019s an \u201ceternal optimist\u201d who still believes that Congress will pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. But he\u2019s also a \u201crealist\u201d who recognizes that \u201ctime is short\u201d to get something done.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe optimist says, \u2018we\u2019re gonna get it done.\u2019 There are several ways we can do it,\u201d he said, noting that the reform could be enacted through a larger vehicle like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or omnibus appropriations legislation, or as a standalone.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut the realist in me says, \u2018I\u2019ve been disappointed before.\u2019 And the industry has been disappointed before because it\u2019s gotten stuck in the Senate and time is short,\u201d Perlmutter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think given the activity in the Senate that we\u2019ve seen over the course of the last month\u2014both out of the Banking Committee, as well as out of [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer\u2019s (D-NY)] office, I think something is going to happen, and I\u2019m going to do everything I can to make sure that it does, at least on the House side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When it comes to the SAFE Banking Act, it\u2019s not clear what more can be done on the House side, as the chamber has already approved the bill seven times in some form. What supporters are waiting to see is what comes out of the Senate in the coming days or weeks as Schumer finalizes what\u2019s expected to be a package of cannabis banking and expungements legislation.<\/p>\n
Perlmutter said that there are other components that some senators have expressed interest in adding to the so-called SAFE Plus package, including promoting marijuana research and \u201cmaybe a pilot program dealing with PTSD\u201d within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a way to fashion this that I think keeps Republicans in the Senate\u2014we need 10 at least, I think, to pass it out of the Senate with the Democrats\u2014and move it back to the House, where I know we could pass it and send it on to President Biden,\u201d the congressman said.<\/p>\n
Talks on the omnibus bill have been intensifying in recent weeks, with the majority leader discussing the proposal with key bipartisan senators. But as Perlmutter noted, time is running thin, and advocates say it\u2019s critical that the Senate act soon given that Republicans will have the majority in the House<\/a>\u00a0following this month\u2019s election.<\/p>\n Schumer said late last month\u00a0that Congress is getting \u201cvery close\u201d<\/a>\u00a0to introducing and passing the marijuana banking and expungements bill, citing progress he\u2019s made in discussions with a \u201cbunch of Republican senators.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), meanwhile, said following the election that Democrats who want to enact cannabis reform\u00a0must either do it \u201cnow\u201d during the lame duck session<\/a>\u00a0or wait until \u201cmany years from now\u201d when his party has a shot at controlling Congress again.<\/p>\n \u2014 For some advocates, support for the so-called \u201cSAFE Plus\u201d package will be largely contingent on what happens with the banking language, as they\u2019re discontent with the current provisions that have passed the House in some form seven times now.<\/p>\n Specifically, they\u2019d like to see the bill amended to provide funding for Minority Deposit Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that lend commercial loans to minority-owned businesses.<\/p>\n They\u2019re further calling for changes to require banks that work with the cannabis industry to demonstrate non-discrimination in lending, as Supernova Women Executive Director Amber Senter\u00a0wrote in a recent op-ed for Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n These amendments align with some of the SAFE Banking Act recommendations that Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC)\u00a0outlined in a paper sent to legislative leaders<\/a>\u00a0in August.<\/p>\n The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), meanwhile, sent a letter to Senate leadership on Monday, calling for a floor vote on the SAFE Banking Act<\/a> \u201cwithout further delay\u201d by the year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n \u201cThis legislation enjoys strong, bipartisan support, would resolve a conflict between state and federal law, and addresses a critical public safety concern,\u201d ICBA, which\u00a0commissioned a poll demonstrating that support<\/a>\u00a0earlier this year, said. \u201cWe urge its enactment without further delay.\u201d<\/p>\n Another poll released on Monday found that three in four American voters\u2014including bipartisan majorities\u2014support ending federal marijuana prohibition<\/a>, expunging prior convictions and allowing banks to work with state-legal cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n These States Almost Legalized Marijuana In 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post On Marijuana Banking Bill, Congressman Is Balancing Optimism With Realism As Senate Talks Heat Up<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The House sponsor of a marijuana banking bill says that he sees signs that the Senate will finally act during the lame duck session\u2014but he is cautioning that he\u2019s \u201cbeen disappointed before.\u201d Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), who is retiring after this session, told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday that he\u2019s anContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":58756,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58755"}],"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=58755"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58757,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58755\/revisions\/58757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: On Marijuana Banking Bill, Congressman Is Balancing Optimism With Realism As Senate Talks Heat Up<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"