In an interview with The Dales Report, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stated that a vote on the SAFER Banking Act could occur during the lame duck session before the end of the year, while attributing the lack of progress to Republicans.
(Photo credit: Al Drago / Getty Images).
When asked by a reporter from The Dales Report “Do you think there’s any possibility that SAFE could happen during the lame duck session?”, Warren responded by saying “It could. And I very much would like to see that happen.”
She continued by saying “Look, we’ve got multiple paths for getting this done, and yet somehow we have never been able to stitch it together. Part of the problem has been that there still is significant Republican opposition, and the consequence of that is we have to have 60 or more votes in order to move forward.”
Warren says “I very much want to see this happen, and I’ve been pushing for it for years. I am hopeful that we’ll get it done in the lame duck.”
When the reporter pushed Warren, noting that Republicans say they have enough votes for SAFER to pass and saying “it all falls down to one person, it’s Chuck Schumer”, Warren responded by saying “It actually doesn’t. We have all the Democrats on board for this, and yet we can’t get passed the 60 vote threshold. What do we need? We need just a handful of Republican votes, and they’re just not there when it comes time to sit down and vote.”
She continued “So they can tell you whatever they want, and Donald Trump can suddenly arrive on the scene and say he’s the biggest support ever. He was president for four years the Republicans were in control and exactly how much moved forward on SAFE Banking? Nothing. Because there are too many Republicans who want to see nothing happen here.
Do they want to say that out loud? No, they want to keep taking your money, they want to keep saying they going to do it, and they keep not making it happen.”
Warren says that when it comes to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, “if he has the votes, he’ll put it on the floor.”
The SAFER Banking Act (S.2860) in the Senate has 37 sponsors. The measure would provide federal protections to banks and other financial institutions, such as credit unions, that offer services to marijuana businesses operating legally under state law.
In the House of Representatives, a similar measure, the SAFE Banking Act, has 130 sponsors.
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