The House of Representatives is set to vote once again on providing protections to banks that work with state-legal marijuana businesses. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), the sponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, filed the text of his bill as an amendment last week. On Tuesday, the House Rules Committee determined the proposal to be in order, meaning it will be taken up by the full House for consideration to be attached to large-scale legislation on research and innovation in the tech and manufacturing sectors that is advancing. The floor vote is expected later this week. If approved, it would mark the sixth time that Perlmutter’s cannabis measure has advanced through the House in some form. The congressman’s last attempt to get the reform enacted through a massive defense bill, it was attached to the House legislation only to be stripped out following bicameral negotiations. Perlmutter put much to blame for that defeat on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has insisted that comprehensive legalization, like a bill he’s expected to file soon, should move first before the incremental banking policy change. On Tuesday, Perlmutter told the Rules Committee, of which he is a member, that he’s planning to offer the SAFE Banking Act as an amendment to “every single bill I possibly can until it’s passed” and he acknowledged that his colleagues are probably “becoming all too familiar with” the legislation in light of his repeated advocacy for it. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the panel’s ranking member, chimed in to say that he supports the measure and looks forward to voting for it on the floor. Along with Perlmutter, the cannabis financial services amendment is cosponsored by Reps. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/01/2022 20:09:00