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Congressional lawmakers have abandoned plans to pursue a marijuana banking bill through unrelated must-pass aviation legislation<\/a>, determining that it\u2019s \u201cinsufficiently germane,\u201d according to a top industry association that cited sources familiar with the decision.<\/p>\n That might come as unwelcome news for supporters, including stakeholders who were alerted to the development by an internal U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) email on Thursday. But there are still other legislative paths for the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act this session, including the continued possibility of advancing it as a standalone measure.<\/p>\n Plans to attach the cannabis bill, as well as cryptocurrency regulations legislation, to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization package, however, have fallen through, USCC says.<\/p>\n \u201cOur sources indicate that the SAFER Banking Act will not be included in the must-pass FAA reauthorization bill,\u201d USCC Senior Vice President of Public Affairs David Culver said in the email obtained by Marijuana Moment. \u201cWe understand that the provision, along with other banking priorities such as stablecoin, were deemed insufficiently germane to the aviation-centric package.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing, to be sure, but there will be ample opportunities to pass SAFER in this Congress,\u201d the email says. \u201cLeadership will now reassess and consider whether to advance the bill as a standalone or through one of the lame duck legislative vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSAFER has many powerful backers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and enjoys strong, bipartisan support,\u201d it says. We remain optimistic about its prospects for passage.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Schumer once again included the bipartisan marijuana banking bill in a list of legislative priorities<\/a>\u00a0he 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 Meanwhile, this week Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, acknowledged discussions about attaching the cannabis banking bill to the FAA legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said last month that passing 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 Read the full text of the USCC email on the status of the SAFER Banking Act below:<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m writing to share the latest developments from Capitol Hill today, where USCC staff and members spent much of the day.<\/p>\n Our sources indicate that the SAFER Banking Act will not be included in the must-pass FAA reauthorization bill. We understand that the provision, along with other banking priorities such as stablecoin, were deemed insufficiently germane to the aviation-centric package.<\/p>\n As I noted yesterday, it was an open question as to whether the banking provisions would remain in the final version of the bill. Unfortunately, they will not.<\/p>\n It\u2019s disappointing, to be sure, but there will be ample opportunities to pass SAFER in this Congress. Leadership will now reassess and consider whether to advance the bill as a standalone or through one of the lame duck legislative vehicles.<\/p>\n SAFER has many powerful backers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and enjoys strong, bipartisan support. We remain optimistic about its prospects for passage.<\/p>\n We will use next Tuesday\u2019s Government Relations call to dig into the next steps for SAFER. I hope you can join us then.<\/p>\n Please feel free to reach out directly in the meantime.<\/p>\n Best, Biden Campaign Says Trump \u2018Took Marijuana Reform Backwards\u2019 By Rescinding Enforcement Memo, Despite Current Admin Failing To Reinstate It<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Congress Will Not Pursue Marijuana Banking Reform Through Must-Pass Aviation Bill, Industry Group Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Congressional lawmakers have abandoned plans to pursue a marijuana banking bill through unrelated must-pass aviation legislation, determining that it\u2019s \u201cinsufficiently germane,\u201d according to a top industry association that cited sources familiar with the decision. That might come as unwelcome news for supporters, including stakeholders who were alerted to the developmentContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":74684,"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\/74683"}],"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=74683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74685,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74683\/revisions\/74685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nDavid Culver
\nSVP of Public Affairs
\nUS Cannabis Council<\/p>\n\n
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\nRead More: Congress Will Not Pursue Marijuana Banking Reform Through Must-Pass Aviation Bill, Industry Group Says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"