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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) \u201ccontinues to oppose marijuana banking,\u201d a spokesperson for his office told Marijuana Moment on Monday.<\/p>\n
And another Senate source says that GOP leadership\u2019s opposition to the reform as a policy matter is obstructing the path to advancing the cannabis measure as part of must-pass aviation legislation<\/a>\u2014rather than being it being a question of germaneness to the aviation bill, as one top industry group claimed last week.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has repeatedly described the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act as a top legislative priority for the remainder of the session. But given that he\u2019s stressed it will require bipartisan cooperation, McConnell\u2019s opposition raises questions about the bill\u2019s prospects of being enacted this year.<\/p>\n Supporters are hoping that Senate Republicans who have championed the cannabis legislation\u2014including the bill\u2019s chief GOP sponsor Sen. Steve Daines (R-MO)\u2014will make their case to McConnell to allow it to advance without obstruction. But the minority leader has a history of proactive opposition to the reform, with Schumer blaming him in 2022 for blocking it from being attached to a separate must-pass defense bill, for example.<\/p>\n Marijuana Moment asked McConnell\u2019s office about where the leader stands on the idea of moving cannabis banking and cryptocurrency regulation legislation as part of a package alongside a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. The spokesperson said simply: \u201cLeader McConnell continues to oppose marijuana banking.\u201d<\/p>\n Daines\u2019s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the time of publication.<\/p>\n Last week, the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) distributed an internal email to members that Marijuana Moment obtained, advising that plans to attach the SAFER Banking Act to the FAA bill had fallen apart<\/a>, largely because there was an agreement that it was not germane to the aviation proposal.<\/p>\n But a Senate source told Marijuana Moment on Monday that wasn\u2019t the case. Germaneness wasn\u2019t the issue; rather, GOP leadership\u2019s opposition to the cannabis banking reform itself was to blame, they said.<\/p>\n There are still options on the table to move the SAFER Banking Act, and supporters aren\u2019t giving up hope just yet that McConnell\u2014who championed provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill to federally legalize hemp\u2014can be swayed to let it move.<\/p>\n Of course, it\u2019s Schumer who controls the agenda and can bring it to a vote at any point. But McConnell has long been known as a gatekeeper on the GOP end, and his position on the reform proposal could make the difference in terms of the cannabis banking bill reaching the steep 60 vote threshold to advance toward passage.<\/p>\n The bipartisan support for the bill is evident, however. Just last week, the Republican vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. French Hill (R-AR) said he would support a hybrid marijuana banking and cryptocurrency regulation bill, saying \u201cour country will benefit\u201d if both reforms are enacted<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), separately said that \u201cnow is the time\u201d to pass cannabis banking reform, and she\u2019s \u201chopeful\u201d lawmakers will \u201covercome\u201d any potential challenge from McConnell<\/a> as they work to advance the legislation.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, last week 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 Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) 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 \u2014 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 Top GOP Congressman Backs Passing Marijuana Banking Bill Paired With Cryptocurrency Reform, Saying \u2018Our Country Will Benefit\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post McConnell \u2018Continues To Oppose Marijuana Banking,\u2019 His Office Says As Another Senate Aide Faults GOP Leadership For Derailing Reform Plans<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) \u201ccontinues to oppose marijuana banking,\u201d a spokesperson for his office told Marijuana Moment on Monday. And another Senate source says that GOP leadership\u2019s opposition to the reform as a policy matter is obstructing the path to advancing the cannabis measure as part of must-passContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":74730,"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\/74729"}],"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=74729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74731,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74729\/revisions\/74731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: McConnell \u2018Continues To Oppose Marijuana Banking,\u2019 His Office Says As Another Senate Aide Faults GOP Leadership For Derailing Reform Plans<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"