Democratic Senators See Pathway For Marijuana Banking Bill In Lame Duck, But Identify Key Obstacles
Democratic senators say the path to passing a bipartisan marijuana banking bill in the final weeks of the year is narrow but not impossible to traverse—with one member identifying a potential vehicle for the reform and another saying supporters are in the process of lining up a vote.
Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act sponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) weighed in on the measure’s prospects in separate interviews with Marijuana Moment this week.
Merkley said he has “no idea” whether the legislation will move during the lame duck session, but that it’s possible if there’s “momentum” to insert the reform into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Otherwise, it will be “really hard” to pass the banking bill as a standalone given competing legislative priorities for the remainder of the year. And the senator said it was also unlikely to be included in the next continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded, because there’s resistance to adding policy items to such legislation.
Brown, whose committee approved the SAFER Banking Act last year, was also asked if he thinks there’s a chance it could still advance through Congress this year.
“I hope so,” he said, adding that “we’re trying to line up the vote.” But he added that he isn’t sure what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is prioritizing, and he said “Republicans are going to try to slow-walk everything.”
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the GOP lead sponsor of the cannabis banking bill, separately told Politico this week that he wants to see the measure “get done before the end of the year.”
And Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said he’s “hoping to get something done in NDAA.”
Notably, a Republican senator, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), told AskAPol that he considers the SAFER Banking Act a “half-assed” measure that should simply be incorporated into legislation to create a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for marijuana.
Getting the banking reform enacted during the lame duck could be pivotal following this month’s election that put Republicans back in the Senate majority at the same time that they held onto the House. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was elected by his peers to serve as majority leader, and he’s opposed to the cannabis banking bill, further complicating its pathway to passage under the next Congress.
President-elect Donald Trump has voiced support for allowing cannabis industry access to the banking system, but it remains to be seen whether he will proactively push lawmakers to pass the bill.
Merkley separately told Marijuana Moment in September that it’s “great” and “helpful” Trump came out in support of the reform—though he said the pathway to passage in the chamber is still unclear.
Meanwhile, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) separately challenged the idea that there’s enough GOP support for the SAFER Banking Act to pass on the Senate floor during the lame duck session.
Warren accused certain Republican members of overstating support for the legislation within their caucus, while also taking a hit at Trump for doing “nothing” on cannabis reform during his time in office as he makes a policy pivot ahead of the election by coming out in support of the marijuana banking bill and federal rescheduling.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) also recently argued in an interview with Marijuana Moment that the main barrier to getting the marijuana banking bill across the finish line is a lack of sufficient Republican support in the chamber. And he said if Trump is serious about seeing the reform he recently endorsed enacted, he needs to “bring us some Republican senators.”
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Many would like to see a Senate roll call vote on the bill before the end of this Congress—at the very least so members are forced to go on the record amid conflicting reports about whether it has enough support to reach the steep 60-vote threshold to advance to passage. But if it were to fail, some feel that setback could prove all the more damaging to its long-term prospects of success.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) that the cannabis banking bill is one example of a measure that should be brought to the floor imminently following Trump’s statement of support, as well as recent reporting about unearthed audio where former President Richard Nixon could be heard conceding that cannabis is “not particularly dangerous.”
“I would suggest moving policies that, instead of further dividing us, makes a difference for the American people, including for our veterans, law enforcement, small businesses, and more,” the congressman, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, said. “It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
Whether the Johson would be willing to take the congressman’s advice remains to be seen, however. Prior to becoming speaker, Johnson consistently opposed cannabis reform, including on incremental issues like cannabis banking and making it easier to conduct scientific research on the plant.
Meanwhile, on the one-year anniversary of a Senate committee’s passage of the SAFER Banking Act in September, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis on the economic impact of the reform, including the likely increase in federally insured deposits from cannabis businesses by billions of dollars once banks receive protections for servicing the industry.
The LCB contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.
GOP Senator Says Marijuana Banking And Rescheduling Are ‘Half-Assed’ Measures, Arguing Cannabis Should Be Legally Regulated Like Alcohol And Tobacco
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.
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