House Marijuana Banking Sponsor And Key Senator Keep Up Fight, While GOP Whip Tempers Expectations And Clock Ticks Down
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As the clock keeps ticking during the final weeks of Congress’s lame duck session, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) says marijuana banking reform is one of the “outstanding” items he’s committed to advancing before his retirement. A key senator also said that a deal on the bill “absolutely could still happen,” with lawmakers “close” to an agreement. That said, the Senate minority whip says he doesn’t expect to see the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act attached to omnibus appropriations legislation that’s being actively negotiated and that advocates are hoping to see used as the vehicle for the reform after an attempt to place it in a separate defense bill failed this month. The pressure is on, with just weeks left before the end of the 117th Congress—and financial organizations including the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFICU) and Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) are amplifying their message to lawmakers to get the job done sooner than later. While there’s uncertainty in the air, Perlmutter said at a House Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday that there are “two outstanding matters that I’m still working on.” “Obviously, one is SAFE Banking,” he said, holding up the text of what appeared to be an amendment with the reform language. “Hopefully I can add it to something. There aren’t many more things—but add it to something.”

The congressman said in a hearing in the panel last week that he was eyeing appropriations as a possible vehicle, and he sharply criticized the Senate for failing to get it across the finish line after the bill passed the House in some form seven times at this point. On Tuesday, Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) gave a brief speech applauding Perlmutter’s work on a variety of issues as he prepares to…

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Source : House Marijuana Banking Sponsor And Key Senator Keep Up Fight, While GOP Whip Tempers Expectations And Clock Ticks Down

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