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A top Democratic congresswoman says that \u201cnow is the time\u201d to pass marijuana banking reform, and she\u2019s \u201chopeful\u201d lawmakers will \u201covercome\u201d any potential challenge from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as they work to advance the legislation.<\/p>\n
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, was asked about possible vehicles for the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The congresswoman said she\u2019s been \u201cworking very well together\u201d with Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) over the last two years to develop a separate cryptocurrency regulations bill that some lawmakers have discussed merging with the marijuana banking measure<\/a>.<\/p>\n Waters also acknowledged discussions about attaching the cannabis banking and stablecoin proposals to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill.<\/p>\n \u201cNow is the time, and I want you to know that those of us who have worked with [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)], we want very much to have SAFER Banking,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that there may be some concerns with McConnell, but I am hopeful that we can overcome that because you\u2019re absolutely right, we\u2019ve got to have SAFER Banking, and most of us who have been working on this support that.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch Waters discuss<\/a> the SAFER Banking Act, starting around 15:30 into the video below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \ufeff<\/span>\ufeff<\/span>\ufeff<\/span><\/p>\n McConnell has long opposed marijuana reform efforts, including earlier versions of the cannabis banking bill. In late 2022, Schumer specifically blamed the minority leader for tanking the legislation when supporters were considering putting it in a large-scale defense bill<\/a>. And McConnell later bragged about the defeat<\/a>.<\/p>\n But he hasn\u2019t publicly weighed in on the revised SAFER Banking Act, even as it moved through the Senate Banking Committee last September. And it\u2019s unclear how much influence his opposition would carry if Schumer does put it on the floor.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Schumer once again included the bipartisan marijuana banking bill in a list of legislative priorities<\/a> he hopes to advance this year.<\/p>\n Since the Senate recently approved must-pass appropriations legislation and foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, there are heightened expectations that floor action could be on the horizon.<\/p>\n Adding to those expectations is the recent introduction of a bill to\u00a0incentivize expungements for past cannabis offenses at the state, local and tribal levels<\/a>. Schumer has made clear he intends to attach that measure to the banking legislation on the floor.<\/p>\n Schumer 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\u00a0\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 \u2014 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 Rep. Earl Blumenauer, founding co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Marijuana Moment last week that,\u00a0\u201cevery day we\u2019re closer on SAFE Banking,<\/a>\u00a0and negotiations \u201care ongoing in the House and Senate, and we are, in fact, making progress.\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 Congressional Lawmakers Demand DEA \u2018Promptly\u2019 Reschedule Marijuana, Regardless Of \u2018Internal Disagreement\u2019 At The Agency<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Key Congresswoman Says \u2018Now Is The Time\u2019 To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill, Despite McConnell\u2019s \u2018Concerns\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A top Democratic congresswoman says that \u201cnow is the time\u201d to pass marijuana banking reform, and she\u2019s \u201chopeful\u201d lawmakers will \u201covercome\u201d any potential challenge from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as they work to advance the legislation. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee,Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":74644,"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\/74643"}],"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=74643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74645,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74643\/revisions\/74645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Key Congresswoman Says \u2018Now Is The Time\u2019 To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill, Despite McConnell\u2019s \u2018Concerns\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"