Senate Slows down SAFE Banking

The United States Cannabis Council (USCC) is of the opinion that the lack of action taken by the Senate on SAFE Banking throughout the entirety of 2022 will most likely continue into 2023 and beyond.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) placed the blame squarely on the doorsteps of two Republican senators for the failure of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act to be included in Monday’s omnibus appropriations legislation. Schumer believed that these senators prevented the inclusion of cannabis banking provisions into a large-scale spending bill that is likely to be passed during this ever-shortening lame-duck period. The lame-duck period begins on December 5 and ends on

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey were on the receiving end of Schumer’s ire (R-PA). Not only did McConnell object to the inclusion of cannabis banking reform in the $1.7 trillion spending bill, but he also tore into Schumer’s attempt to include the SAFE Act in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill, and he made it clear that he was going to scuttle any and all attempts to push it through appropriations. McConnell’s opposition to the inclusion of cannabis banking reform in the spending bill was not the only reason for his opposition to the inclusion of the SAFE

Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell, Image courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

According to Marijuana Moment, Schumer made this vow when appearing at a Democratic Senate leadership briefing on Tuesday. He said that they would “go back at it next year.”

“We received really solid backing from members of both parties. We had hoped to have it done. Schumer added, “I worked for months with various Republicans, led by [Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)], but in the very last minute, both Senator Toomey and Senator McConnell opposed it.”

“It is bipartisan. It enjoys the support of a wide variety of organizations. We’re going to give it another shot the following year.”

What Happened Sen. Schumer?

Despite Schumer’s present lamentations, it is quite evident that his infamous “last-ditch effort” to include banking provisions for cannabis businesses in the budget measure was too little, too late.

RELATED: Marijuana Banking Bill Was Not Included In The Year-End Spending Measure, Pushing the Industry Back To The Drawing Board

Just ask NORML’s executive director Erik Altieri. “Over the past two years, Democrats have repeatedly promised to take action on cannabis, but party leadership has repeatedly failed to prioritize and advance marijuana reform legislation, including legislation to provide clarity to banks and legislation to provide grant funding for state-level efforts to expunge criminal records, despite having several opportunities to do so.”

What Comes After

After the unveiling of the enormous omnibus bill, which lays out the federal budget for the year 2023, one would question why politicians omitted a topic that is both significant and widely discussed, such as banking for cannabis.

The United States Cannabis Council (USCC) maintains that, despite Schumer’s claim to the contrary, the Senate’s lack of action on SAFE Banking throughout the entirety of 2022 will most likely continue into 2023 and beyond.

CONNECTED: Is the Passage of the SAFE Banking Act Drawing Nearer? The senators are in agreement that this matter is relevant.

“The Senate missed an opportunity to pass one of the rare pieces of legislation that has the support of both Republicans and Democrats, along with the majority of the American people,” said the CEO of the USCC, Khadijah Tribble. “In failing to enact the SAFE Banking Act, the Senate missed an opportunity to pass one of the rare pieces of legislation that has the support of both Republicans and Democrats.” “Not only did the Senate miss an opportunity to score a victory that could have been celebrated by both parties this year, but its inaction harms public safety and undermines the progress that states are making in mending the racial injustices that have resulted from the war on drugs,”