Chairman of a crucial Senate committee said lawmakers must act “this year” on marijuana banking legislation. His Republican counterpart agrees with him that this issue will “come down to a conclusion likely within this Congress.”
The GOP chairman of the House’s committee on jurisdiction said that cannabis banking was “not a priority” and that he is not “closed off” to the topic altogether.
Sherrod Brown, the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (D-OH), also stated that the leadership was ready to “move on” cannabis reform before the bank collapse this month distracted members. He then disclosed that the White House wanted this fixed as far as he knows.
Brown and Scott spoke at the American Bankers Association Washington Summit (ABA) on Wednesday. This was one day after Sen. Tim Scott (R.S.C.), the lead GOP sponsor for the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act , urged the financial industry to press Congress to do the right thing.
“The prognosis for the future is good,” Brown stated. He also said that he was “hopeful” we could achieve it “relatively soon.”
He said that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, had been preparing to reintroduce marijuana banking legislation before the Senate’s Easter recess. He said that he was not sure where Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, stands on the issue but that he believes the White House supports the legislation.
This is a noteworthy detail as White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to discuss what President Joe Biden thought about the policy proposal at a January briefing, and stated that it was upto Congress.
“The problem right away” is the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and the wider economic fallout from that failure. This crisis is “absolutely critical” and has detracted from cannabis reform. “We were close to moving forward” before this situation emerged.
Brown stated that there is good bipartisan support for this issue, depending on where members come from. “But I am very optimistic–and we must do this this year.
Scott for his part made it clear that he isn’t particularly supportive of the reform. However, he acknowledges that the SAFE Banking Act has significant bipartisan support and that it will be addressed quickly while there’s a wider conversation about federal cannabis legalization.
Brown and he agreed that banking legislation should not be brought to the floor in a larger bill.
Scott, who many believe will run for the Republican nomination in 2024, stated that “I think it’s an important decision” rather than rushing it to the floor, where many will oppose the process and before we even address any underlying legislation. The good news is that we both agreed that regular process, regular order is important for the SAFE Act.
“There are Republicans that have acted very positively in support of the SAFE Act. He said that although I am not one of those Republicans he stated, there is a bipartisan coalition that wants to have a serious discussion about the problems it would solve. “And the question is, does it solve more problems than it causes harm?”
Scott stated that Congress must also engage in the larger debate on federal marijuana legalization. This is “something we’re going have to wrestle with both as a nation, and as Congress and find an answer.”
He said, “But there’s a bipartisan coalition that wants to have that discussion, so that’s great news.” “Both sides want regular order–that is better news. “I believe we will reach a consensus in Congress.”
On Wednesday, Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee (Republican from North Carolina), also spoke at ABA summit. While McHenry stressed that the SAFE Banking Act was not a priority on his agenda, he also acknowledged that many of his Republican colleagues such as Rep. Dave Joyce from Ohio are working to promote the issue.
“I am not closed to this. He said he understood the societal implications of the bill and the challenges they present. He also noted that he had voted against the bill several times. “I don’t believe this is the right way to solve a social problem through finance.”
He stated that the chairman considers it problematic that the Senate leadership “wants a whole other layer on social justice issues to this circumstance, rather than getting at the core of the issue, which is federal cannabis legal status in federal law.”
He said, “If you fix that, the banking problem is solved.” The bigger issue is cannabis’ federal status and its appropriateness to the drug class it is associated with. Let’s start a debate. As a result, the banking issue is resolved.”
McHenry stated that although he opposes the bank proposal, McHenry wouldn’t stand in its path.
A coalition of cannabis industry associations wrote Tuesday to the Senate Banking Committee leadership requesting swift action on bipartisan banking legislation. This legislation has passed the House multiple times before being blocked by the Senate.
The National Cannabis Roundtable, National Cannabis Industry Association and (NCIA), U.S. Cannabis Council and (USCC), Minority Cannabis Business Association and National Hispanic Cannabis Council (NHCC) were the key players in the letter to Brown & Scott.
These groups suggested that the committee “immediately schedule an hearing to discuss the lack access to banking and financial resources that is affecting the U.S. marijuana industry, and advance bipartisan legislation expeditiously in order to improve public safety as well as provide capital access for these businesses.”
ABA has advocated for banking legislation for many years. A poll released last year by ABA found that 65 percent of Americans want a solution to the problem of cannabis banking.
After the Senate failed to pass the banking bill, advocates and stakeholders from the industry have lost patience with it.
Schumer stated last week that he is still committed to moving legislation with SAFE Banking Sponsor Sen. Steve Daines (R.MT), even in a divided Congress with Republicans controlling the House.
Following last year’s election Sen. Cory Booker (D.NJ) stated that it could take “many years” for cannabis legislation to be passed if Democrats don’t get the job done during lame duck.
Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary, also spoke at ABA’s summit. She stated during a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee last week that regulators are separately exploring options to address the issue of cannabis banking.
She stated last year that Congress had failed to pass legislation such as the SAFE Banking Act.
She stated that we had discussed it for a very lengthy and she agreed with you: It is an important issue–and an extremely frustrating one–and that we have not been able to solve it.”
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Photo by Mike Latimer.
The post Senate Bank Chairman Said ‘We Need’ to Pass Marijuana Bill ‘This year,’ Disclosing White House support originally appeared on Marijuana Moment.
