Will cannabis banking reform land on Biden’s desk along with the Defense Act?

By Jelena Martinovic

The U.S. House of Representatives passed extensive defense spending bill on Thursday, just days after the cannabis banking reform that was part of the legislation was passed. So it seems that cannabis banking could land on President Biden’s desk along with the all-important defense budget.

The cannabis banking reform passed by vote on Tuesday would allow banks to do business with cannabis companies without being penalized by federal regulators.

Photo by Darren415 / Getty Images

The vote took place after the House Rules Committee had put the amendment by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) up for discussion. It was one of several drug policy proposals that lawmakers wanted to add to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Marijuana Moment reported.

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The latest breakthrough is the fifth time the House of Representatives has passed cannabis banking reform in recent years.

Resistance from important senators

Perlmutter was optimistic about including the banking reform in the NDAA in order to send it to the Senate.

“I think the fifth time is the charm,” Mother-of-Pearl told Marijuana Moment. “I mean, of course, there is still some work we need to do to ensure that it stays part of the NDAA when the House and Senate go to conference. So we still have to do with the Senate to make sure it stays a part of it. But I think it will. “

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However, some key Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), have insisted on getting a full, justice-focused marijuana legalization first, arguing that the Adopt Safe and Fair Enforcement (SAFE.)) The Banking Act could initially impact support for wider reform.

A tweet from Politico’s Natalie Ready quoted a Schumer spokesman as saying the senator’s position – that both reforms should be carried out “simultaneously” – had not changed.

ALSO: A spokesman for Maj Leader @chuckschumer told me today that his position has not changed since telling @politico in April that banks and major reforms should happen “at the same time”. Here is the interview: https://t.co/OuCUFaSGSU

– Natalie Ready (@natsfert) September 22, 2021

On Wednesday, Booker, who works with Schumer and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) on a final legalization bill, told Politico that cannabis banking is “something that shouldn’t be put on the defense budget” .

“It undermines the ability to achieve comprehensive marijuana reform and the things that are more difficult to accomplish like clearing people’s records,” Booker said, according to Fertigs’ tweet.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.