The SAFE Banking Act just gained its 104th sponsor in the United States House of Representatives.
On Friday Congressmember Susan Wild (D-PA) joined the list of 103 lawmakers currently sponsoring the SAFE Banking Act. The SAFER Banking Act, an updated Senate version of the bill, has 35 sponsors.
The SAFE and SAFER Banking Acts would allow banks and other financial institutions to provide banking services to state-legal marijuana businesses. This included debit and credit card services, access to business loans and so forth. The SAFE Banking Act was filed in April, while the SAFER Banking Act was filed in September.
The same month the SAFER Banking Act was filed it passed through the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with bipartisan support. Following the vote Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to put the measure to a vote of the full Senate “very soon”, with him saying in November that the chamber was “getting close“ to a vote.
According to polling released in October, by greater than a 2-to-1 margin “U.S. adults support Congress passing legislation that allows cannabis businesses to access banking services.”
Recent federal disclosures show that in the final quarter of 2023, PayPal lobbied heavily in favor of the SAFE Banking Act.
