Congressional lawmakers from across the aisle are weighing in on the prospects of a marijuana banking bill\u2014sharing predictions about the prospects of passage, different legislative vehicles to advance the reform and, for one GOP senator, his concern that the cannabis legislation could inadvertently benefit illicit fentanyl traffickers.<\/p>\n
In a series of interviews posted The Dales Report on Monday, key bipartisan members of the Senate and House shared their views on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act and the ongoing federal marijuana scheduling review.<\/p>\n
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the GOP sponsor of the cannabis banking bill, reiterated that he believes Congress is in \u201cthe best spot we\u2019ve ever been in getting SAFE Banking across the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m cautiously optimistic,\u201d he said, though he added that he\u2019s \u201cgiven up trying to forecast\u201d the outcome and timeline for the legislation. Notably, he said lawmakers are exploring different \u201cvehicles\u201d to advance the bill, pointing to \u201csome ideas in the works in the House.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the \u201cgood news\u201d is that the House and Senate positions on the measure are \u201cpretty well congruent,\u201d suggesting that outstanding issues that emerged in bicameral negotiations have been largely resolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m cautiously optimistic we get this done in \u201924,\u201d Daines said, adding that it\u2019s important for members to understand that the proposal is a means of ensuring \u201cpublic safety\u201d given that the lack of banking access for the industry has made state-legal marijuana businesses unique targets of crime.<\/p>\n
Another Republican supporter of the SAFE Banking Act, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), estimated that the bill enjoys anywhere from 60-70 percent support in both chambers of Congress.<\/p>\n
The senator said both parties are partly to blame for inaction on the legislation, conceding on the one hand that, because Democrats are broadly more in favor of the reform than Republicans, the measure is \u201cless likely to come up in the House,\u201d which is under GOP control, because of the \u201cpolitical nature\u201d of the issue.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, he criticized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for failing to bring the bill to a vote when Democrats held majorities in both chambers while also promoting separate broader legalization legislation that doesn\u2019t enjoy the same level of bipartisan support in Congress.<\/p>\n
\nThe banking bill has \u201clanguished and languished\u201d in recent sessions, Paul said. If Schumer brought it up for a vote, \u201cI think it would probably pass. I think there\u2019s enough Republicans with Democrats to get to 60 votes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, in the House, \u201cit\u2019s unlikely\u201d to advance given both the partisan dynamics and the fact that anti-marijuana Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wants to avoid \u201canother headache\u201d given the challenges of moving even must-pass legislation to keep the government funded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s where we are right now. And I\u2019m still supportive of [SAFE Banking] and continue to try\u2014and I\u2019ve worked with Schumer on it. I think the logistics of it are difficult right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), a chief proponent of the marijuana banking bill both in Congress and now in the private sector, echoed recent reporting about the most likely pathway for the SAFE Banking Act in the House. He said his expectation is that it\u2019s most likely to advance in the chamber as part of a package attached to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation<\/a> before the election or during the lame duck period following the election.<\/p>\n \u201cI think those are the two possibilities that you can see that legislation move,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t see much happening outside of those two. But right now, that\u2019s kind of where the ballgame is.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers \u201chave to figure out how much time they have delegate because, if somebody wants to object\u2014if one senator out of 100 people wants to object to a bill\u2014it could draw the process out for weeks,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe leaders are looking and saying, \u2018Well, we don\u2019t have time if that happens, so that means it has to be coupled with other things.,’\u201d he said.\u201dI think what you see now is the negotiating process to try to figure out, \u2018What can we put this in? Where can it go?’\u201d<\/p>\n The premiere of The Dales Report feature that was posted on Monday also shows some high-profile members such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) going about their business and making short statements of support for reform and others preoccupied who did not comment such as Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).<\/p>\n Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) also dodged a question while heading into his office about what it would take for him to recognize the therapeutic value of cannabis.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) was asked about his opposition to the marijuana banking bill, and he shared a quizzical perspective about how he and other bipartisan members believe the legislation \u201cwas crafted in such a way that actually would have opened up access to banking resources for fentanyl traffickers and others.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to do this in the right way,\u201d he said. \u201cYou obviously want people to access financial services\u2014but if you do it the wrong way, you can actually promote illicit activity, and that\u2019s what I want to prevent.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about how the potential rescheduling of marijuana under federal law could affect the momentum for SAFE Banking, Vance said that\u2019s \u201cnever been my particular focus and my particular cause of concern.\u201d He added that he doubts that the cannabis banking measure is a priority for the GOP-controlled House.<\/p>\n Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) also shared his thoughts on the path forward for the marijuana banking bill, and he said that while he similarly believes that federal cannabis laws need to be comprehensively reformed with criminal justice reform in mind, he doesn\u2019t want that principle to derail the incremental policy change.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is that, as much as I support some of the justice efforts that some of my colleagues want to see happen, I don\u2019t think we should hold up the SAFE Banking provisions to get the cannabis industry banked,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think some people have ideological problems with the issue. I also think some people want to see justice for those who are criminally accused of minor usage and want to see justice for them,\u201d the senator said. \u201cThey see this bill as the vehicle to achieve that. And while I support their efforts in terms of what they want to accomplish, I don\u2019t think we should continue to allow the cannabis industry\u2014millions and millions of dollars\u2014to go unbanked.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and prime sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act in the House, suggested he remains optimistic that the cannabis banking measure could pass through his chamber, so long as there\u2019s not \u201csome major redo of it, which I don\u2019t foresee.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody comes to him with a different twist, if you will, and trying to make it work,\u201d the congressman said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve been consistent in that more and more states have come online. Whether it\u2019s medicinal or full legal, it\u2019s an important thing to get this done now.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that he\u2019s \u201csort of agnostic on whether [marijuana] gets rescheduled or descheduled\u201d in the interim.<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t really bother me. I want to get make sure we get SAFE Banking in place to make sure that money is where it should be: inside the financial system, instead of out there on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Schumer recently reiterated his intent to\u00a0pass legislation to \u201csafeguard cannabis banking\u201d as part of a \u201cbusy agenda\u201d<\/a>\u00a0that he hopes to achieve in the \u201cweeks and months ahead,\u201d though he again stressed the need for bipartisan cooperation.<\/p>\n He also recently asked people to\u00a0show their support for the SAFER Banking Act by signing a petition<\/a>\u00a0as he steps up his push for the legislation. A poll released last month by the American Bankers Association (ABA) shows that roughly three out of five Americans\u00a0support allowing marijuana industry access to the banking system<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said that that \u201cif Republicans want to keep the House,\u201d they should pass the marijuana banking bill<\/a>, arguing that \u201cthere are votes\u201d to approve it.<\/p>\n Schumer told Marijuana Moment last month that\u00a0the bill remains a \u201cvery high priority\u201d for the Senate<\/a>, and members are having \u201cvery productive\u201d bicameral talks to reach a final agreement.<\/p>\n Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) also said last month that\u00a0passing the SAFER Banking Act off the floor is a \u201chigh priority.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0However, he also recently said in a separate interview that\u00a0advancing the legislation is complicated by current House dynamics<\/a>.<\/p>\n House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) separately said during a recent American Bankers Association (ABA) summit that he wants to see the SAFER Banking Act move.<\/p>\n He said that, \u201cfor whatever reason, the federal government has been slow\u201d to act on the incremental reform that he supports even though he doesn\u2019t identify as \u201ca marijuana guy.\u201d<\/p>\n One key factor that\u2019s kept the bill from the Senate floor is disagreement over mostly non-cannabis provisions dealing with broader banking regulations, primarily those contained in Section 10 of the legislation.<\/p>\n Bicameral negotiations have been ongoing, however, and recent reporting suggests that a final deal could be just over the horizon.<\/p>\n The Democratic Senate sponsor of the SAFER Banking Act, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), told Marijuana Moment last month that the legislation is \u201cgaining momentum\u201d as lawmakers work to bring it to the floor and pass it \u201cthis year.\u201d<\/p>\n At the close of the first half of the 118th Congress in December, Schumer said in a floor speech that lawmakers would \u201chit the ground running\u201d in 2024, aiming to\u00a0build on bipartisan progress on several key issues, including marijuana banking reform<\/a>\u2014though he noted it \u201cwon\u2019t be easy.\u201d<\/p>\n White House Says Marijuana Rescheduling Is Now Up To DOJ After Receiving HHS Recommendation \u2018Guided By The Evidence\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Bipartisan Lawmakers Discuss Marijuana Banking Bill Prospects, With GOP Senator Worrying Reform Will Promote Fentanyl Trafficking<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Congressional lawmakers from across the aisle are weighing in on the prospects of a marijuana banking bill\u2014sharing predictions about the prospects of passage, different legislative vehicles to advance the reform and, for one GOP senator, his concern that the cannabis legislation could inadvertently benefit illicit fentanyl traffickers. In a seriesContinue 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":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74186"}],"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=74186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74187,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74186\/revisions\/74187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Bipartisan Lawmakers Discuss Marijuana Banking Bill Prospects, With GOP Senator Worrying Reform Will Promote Fentanyl Trafficking<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"