Cannabis Financing Executive who spoke to him says that GOP Marijuana Banking bill sponsor, Senator Floor Vote on Hold until House Passage is Assured

The lead GOP Senate cosponsor of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill says a planned floor vote is on pause until he can ensure the legislation will later pass the Republican-controlled House, according to a cannabis financing executive who spoke with the senator this week.

The Senate has long considered the House prospects for the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act (SAFER). However, Sen. Steve Daines, R-MT, made it clear to Pelorus Capital group President Rob Sechrist in their conversation on Tuesday that the bill would not be brought up on the Senate’s floor until he was assured there is a path to passage in opposite chamber.

This is a significant shift in rhetoric, since Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), has repeatedly stated that he plans to bring legislation to the Senate floor for a “as soon as possible” vote.

Sechrist paraphrased, telling Marijuana Moment that Daines told him at a National Republican Senatorial Committee event (NRSC) in California, that he was “going to slow down this until there is a clear pathway through on the Houseside.”

We spoke about #SAFEbanking. He said that he wanted to ensure the House could pass it before he pushed it through the finish line in Senate. He said that it is meaningless until both the Senate as well as the House have passed the legislation. pic.twitter.com/QSY6uCG3xB

— Rob Sechrist (@m5_rob) October 11, 2023

Sechrist, who is the chair of the NRSC said that Daines’ “goal was to ensure that this passed and didn’t just die in the House,” Sechrist stated. Sechrist said that Daines was “passionate” about ensuring that I understood this wasn’t about a simple political victory and getting the bill to the House. He is insistent that he wants this to be done the right way this time.

The executive of the private lending company said that he told Daines that his colleagues in the industry might be “disappointed,” to hear that the senator was delaying Senate action. He described the senator’s response as “a pessimistic outlook is not the way to view it — I want to ensure that this gets done all the way.”

Marijuana Moment contacted the offices of Daines and Schumer, as well as the leading Democratic sponsor of SAFER Banking Act, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-OR, for comments, but they did not respond before publication.

The chances of this bill advancing in the House were questioned after Republicans gained control. The fact that there is no speaker in the House after the historic vote to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-CA from his position last week is a major factor contributing to current complications.

McCarthy was seen as a possible ally in the incremental marijuana reform because he voted for the legislation, even though he did not advocate for broader cannabis concerns. Advocates and stakeholders are now watching to see who will replace him after the GOP conference comes to an agreement following a week of internal division.

House Majority leader Steve Scalise, R-LA was initially the favorite in the party. He has since dropped out. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee (R-OH), is still running but it’s not clear if he can secure enough votes if he were to be formally nominated for speaker. both voted against cannabis reform measures during their respective tenures. This included marijuana banking legislation. Jordan voted against legislation that would have made it easier for scientists to research cannabis.

Austin Scott, R-GA, filed for speakership on Friday. He supported marijuana banking reforms in 2019,, and 2014.. He supports, a bipartisan cannabis research bill. However, he has voted against modest reforms like to protect medical marijuana states from federal interference.

Insiders have attempted to calm concerns over what it would be like to have a cannabis-hating lawmaker lead the House. They have said that while they personally may oppose the measure, they would not stop it if the measure received significant bipartisan support. One thing is for sure: No legislation will be passed in the House before a speaker has been appointed. Each day that passes without a speaker, the floor time available for legislation decreases. There are also more pressing issues for Congress to address, such as funding the government in order to avoid a shut down and providing aid for Israel during its war against Hamas.

Daines may have been influenced by this, which is why he said that the SAFER Banking Act should be put off for the time being.

There is also the question as to what kind of bill would the GOP House be willing and able to pass if the bill was sent. Schumer has talked about plans to modify it so that it includes measures on expunging previous cannabis records and protecting firearm rights for marijuana users. Other senators like Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-GA, have proposed additional equity-centered changes. The Banking Committee’s refusal of certain of his amendments led him to become the only Democratic member who voted against the cannabis bill in the last month.

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The bill’s consideration by the committee was already delayed during the summer due to partisan disagreements over a section in the legislation that Republicans, such as Daines, favored. They claim this would prevent federal financial regulators from discriminating against industries like the firearms industry based on ideology.

Even though lawmakers have negotiated a revised version of the SAFER Banking Act that retains and expands Section 10, this is still an important consideration in bipartisan discussions. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-MO, who is a member the House Financial Services Committee which oversees the SAFER Banking Act has expressed concerns over the language. This indicates that more work needs to be done in order to achieve a bipartisan consensus.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R-IA), sent Schumer a letter last month expressing concern over the Senate’s “ongoing priority of legislation relaxing marijuana laws compared to a separate measure that the GOP senator prefers to permanently ban fentanyl analogs.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-AR, is also stirring up the pot about the cannabis banking legislation. He has a distorted interpretation of Schumer’s remarks on the floor last month regarding the plans to amend the bill with “criminal Justice provisions.”

Cotton said that while Schumer only mentioned amending the bill in order to include gun rights and expungements, the majority leader is looking to add provisions allowing drug traffickers to be released from prison.

Additionally, Sens. Pete Ricketts, John Cornyn, Ted Budd and James Lankford sent a letter recently to the Senate leadership arguing that the SAFER Banking Act will result in cannabis products with higher potencies that are harmful to children and would compromise the integrity of “the United States banking system.”

According to a survey, only 1 in 10 congressional staffers believe that the marijuana banking legislation will be passed by this year. This is a different outlook from those who have been encouraged by its bipartisan progress.