WASHINGTON–A new version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) reportedly does not include the credit union-supported SAFE Banking Act, which would have removed federal prohibitions on serving the financial needs of cannabis-related businesses.
But the lead sponsor of the cannabis reform bill ensured he did not go down without a fight, after filing an amendment in committee that would have attached the marijuana-related legislation to the bill, although ultimately he did not insist on a vote, reported Marijuana Moment.
The SAFE Act, which would permit credit unions and other financial institutions to serve cannabis-related businesses in states in which it has been made legal, had been included in the House-passed version of the NDAA, a move the credit union industry applauded.
But the SAFE Act was removed from a bicameral deal that has been cobbled together as the Senate considers the legislation. The latest version of the bill must also again pass the House before it heads to President Biden’s desk.
The primary sponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), did not force a vote on the amendment in the House Rules Committee, “but its last-minute introduction sparked an impassioned debate within the panel, where multiple members expressed frustration over how Senate leadership has approached the issue,” Marijuana Moment reported.
Perlmutter also tweeted a statement expressing his frustration.
'Don't Know What the Hell His Problem Is'
During a meeting on Tuesday, the publication reported Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) sharply criticized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has insisted that broad justice-focused marijuana reform should be addressed before passing something like the SAFE Banking Act.
“I don’t really quite know what the hell his problem is,” McGovernor said, referring to Schumer. “But what he’s doing is he’s making it very difficult for a lot of small businesses—and minority-owned businesses, too—deal with the issue of cannabis to be able to move forward and to expand and to hire more people.”
Others House members expressing frustration with the Senate included Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, who is a lead negotiator on NDAA.
“The impact of this, as a practical matter, to not have the SAFE Banking Act is incredibly dangerous,” Marijuana Moment quoted Smith as saying. Smith added that small businesses “basically have to run a cash business” and they “can’t do the normal banking that is available to them in the states where marijuana is legal.”
“I even seriously considered saying, you know, we’re just gonna put it in and the Senate can deal with it,” Smith was further quoted as saying. “But the bottom line is, if the majority leader in the Senate has this opinion—and it’s worth noting that the minority leader has a similar position in the Senate—they don’t want this included, that’s not the way the process works.”
All of the members of Congress said that while they support the cannabis legislation, they also did not want to doom the NDAA in the Senate.
CUNA Expresses Disappointment
"Passing the NDAA is an important annual milestone for Congress, and we are disappointed the SAFE Banking Act provisions were not included in the final bill,” said CUNA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak. “Its bipartisan support in both chambers proves that it is a common-sense solution for our country’s evolving stance on cannabis policy. We look forward to working with Congress to make this bill law in the new year."