“This is happening across the country. And this is an opportunity for Congress to take a bill that is critical to pass this House. The COMPETES Act is a priority. It’s a priority for the Democratic leadership. There’s interest in a number of Republicans. So we’ve got a vehicle that needs to be acted upon relatively soon.”
- Congressman Earl Blumenauer
A KEY PROVISION THAT WOULD FINALLY ALLOW BANKING INSTITUTIONS to cater to businesses that touch cannabis is gaining momentum as the U.S. House and Senate iron out their versions of broad spending bills.
On March 28, the Senate voted 68-28 to substitute the text of the House’s H.R. 4521, the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act of 2022, with the text of the Senate’s U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) of 2021.
But one provision, in particular, was missing from the Senate’s version—the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would finally end the discord between state and federal law regarding banking services for cannabis businesses.
The House, as expected, rejected the substituted legislation and requested a bicameral conference to reconcile the differences between the bill versions, one being the omission of the SAFE Banking Act.
A letter dated April 27 and signed by Congress members Earl Blumenauer and Ed Perlmutter reads that it is “imperative” that the 107-member bicameral conference committee include SAFE Banking Act in the final conference committee report of the America COMPETES Act. The letter was addressed
