A federal marijuana banking bill gained another cosponsor this week in the US Senate.
The SAFER Banking Act is now sponsored by 32% of the entire US Senate, with Senator Tammy Baldwin joining as a cosponsor yesterday (the first new sponsor since October 4).
Late last month the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs passed the SAFER Banking Act (S.2860), with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to put it to a vote of the full Senate “very soon”. Since the committee’s approval the measure has gained nine additional cosponsors.
The SAFER Banking Act would provide legal protections for financial institutions, including banks and credit unions, that provide financial services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law.
Speaking on the SAFER Banking Act, Senator Schumer says that it “allows cannabis businesses that have traditionally operated in cash to finally have the opportunity to accept credit and debit cards, allowing them to grow their businesses, pay their employees, protect their customers and ensure public safety.”
Schumers says that “for too long, the federal government has continued to punish marijuana users and business owners.”
Recently the CEO of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to pass the bill into law. A bipartisan group of 22 attorneys general sent a similar letter to congressional leaders late last month.
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