INDUSTRY UPDATES

December 08, 2021

SAFE Banking Bill Stalled, Again

SAFE Banking Bill Stalled, Again

Yesterday was a let down for the hemp industry following months of progress on efforts to secure SAFE Banking for all legal U.S. cannabis businesses.

Despite a recent vote by the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of amending The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act into the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the U.S. Senate has refused to include the SAFE Banking provisions within the final NDAA package.

Bill champion Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), who leads the battle on SAFE Banking alongside Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH).

“As has been the case with cannabis reforms nationally, progress takes time but the will of the people will prevail. I thank my colleagues in the Rules Committee for their support and commitment today to pass this legislation. Including the SAFE Banking Act in the NDAA process resulted in increased awareness and attention to this important problem. That said, people are still getting killed and businesses are still getting robbed because of a lack of action from the Senate. The SAFE Banking Act has been sitting in the Senate for three years and with every passing day their unwillingness to deal with the issue endangers and harms businesses, their employees, and communities across the country.

“My work on this bill is far from over. As Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Schumer are aware, going forward, I plan to pursue every possible avenue to get SAFE Banking signed into law.”

While we are deeply disappointed SAFE Banking legislation has (yet again) been stalled, we fully support and stand by Rep. Perlmutter and will continue to work closely alongside him to ensure passage of this critical cannabis industry legislation. Without access to financial services, legally operating cannabis businesses will continue to be forced to deal with large amounts of cash which can lead to financial confusion or criminal activity.

All legal U.S. businesses deserve to feel SAFE banking!

The SAFE Banking Act has now passed the U.S. House of Representatives separate FIVE times. Still, the U.S. Senate has never voted on the measure.

It’s clear, securing SAFE Banking for cannabis businesses is urgent and has more bipartisan support than ever before. Congress must take steps to ensure that this measure makes it through the Senate and to President Biden’s desk.

Please use our Federal Action Center TODAY to contact your U.S. Senators and ask them to pass The SAFE Banking Act. It’s as easy as typing in your name, email and zip code, and personalizing our draft message to share your story.