US House passes 'hugely important' bill to let legal marijuana businesses access banks


A fully budded marijuana plant ready for trimming is seen at the Botanacare marijuana store ahead of their grand opening on New Year's day in Northglenn, Colorado December 31, 2013. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo
Hailed by advocates as an important milestone on the road to full marijuana legalization, the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill that would open the door to banking services for the legal cannabis industry.

"As we continue to push forward with full legalization, addressing this irrational, unfair, and unsafe denial of banking services to state-legal cannabis businesses is a top priority."
—Rep. Earl Blumenauer

All House Democrats and more than half of Republicans in the lower chamber voted to approve the SAFE Banking Act, which passed by a vote of 321-101. If approved by the Democrat-controlled Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden, the measure would allow banks and other financial institutions to serve state-legal cannabis businesses without running afoul of federal prohibition law.

The House passed a similar bill in 2019. However, the measure never made it past the Senate, which at the time was controlled by Republicans.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.)—who has introduced versions of the bill since 2013—said on the House floor ahead of the vote that "the fact is, you can't put the genie back in the bottle—prohibition is over."

"I hope this bill is an icebreaker for the House to take up other reforms and finally remove the conflict between state and federal laws," he said.

After the successful vote, longtime cannabis legalization advocate Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) tweeted that "this is a step toward ending the failed war on drugs and bringing restorative justice to our Black and Brown communities."


Rep. Barbara Lee
@RepBarbaraLee
Today, the House passed the #SAFEBanking Act so that businesses in the 47 states where some form of marijuana is legal no longer have to operate cash only. This is a step toward ending the failed war on drugs & bringing restorative justice to our Black and Brown communities.
8:33 PM · Apr 19, 2021

Other lawmakers and elected officials, especially in states where recreational or medical marijuana use is legal, applauded the bill's passage.

"As we continue to push forward with full legalization, addressing this irrational, unfair, and unsafe denial of banking services to state-legal cannabis businesses is a top priority," Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said in a statement after the vote. "This is a critical element of reform that can't wait, and I urge our cannabis champions in the Senate to take up this legislation as soon as possible."

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) asserted that "Colorado's multi-billion-dollar marijuana industry employs thousands of people. They should have the same security and access to banking as any other business."

Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington—which in 2012 became one of the first two states to legalize recreational cannabis—said the SAFE Banking Act will provide legal marijuana businesses "a safer, more transparent financial market."

Cannabis legalization advocates also hailed Monday's vote. NORML—the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws—said that if signed into law, the bill "would improve the safety of legal marijuana marketplaces and foster more entrepreneurship in the emerging legal industry."

NORML political director Justin Strekal said that "for the first time since Joe Biden assumed the presidency, a supermajority of the House has voted affirmatively to recognize that the legalization and regulation of marijuana is a superior public policy to prohibition and criminalization."

"However, the SAFE Banking Act is only a first step at making sure that these state-legal markets operate safely and efficiently," he added. "The sad reality is that those who own or patronize the unbanked businesses are themselves criminals in the eyes of the federal government, which can only be addressed by removing marijuana from the list of controlled substances."

Steve Hawkins, executive director of Marijuana Policy Project, called Monday's vote "hugely important."

"This will unlock banking services that certainly will be a benefit to small operators in the space as well as social equity businesses," Hawkins told Marijuana Business Daily.

"The SAFE Banking Act is only a first step at making sure that these state-legal markets operate safely and efficiently."
—Justin Strekal, NORML

The SAFE Banking Act has a much better chance of passage now that Democrats control a Senate whose members increasingly favor an end to federal marijuana prohibition. Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)—whose home state legalized recreational cannabis use last month—is currently working on federal marijuana reform legislation with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Biden, however, remains opposed to full federal legalization. Cannabis activists hope that sustained grassroots pressure and the continuing parade of states ending prohibition could spur the president to reconsider his position. According to Business Insider, recreational marijuana is now legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia, with medicinal use allowed in 36 states.

https://www.rawstory.com/us-house-p...-let-legal-marijuana-businesses-access-banks/

 

Bout time.
This way the government can keep better track of all that dope money, and make sure they get their cut.

 

Schumer warns Democrats willing to go it alone on infrastructure

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate...rats-willing-to-go-it-alone-on-infrastructure

 

Keep those minions in line, Schumer, no independent thought or actions allowed.

 

A true patriot as opposed to conservative/Republican traitors.

Nancy Pelosi Vows to ‘Never Forgive’ Trump, Capitol Insurrectionists for ‘Trauma’ and ‘Fright They Instilled in People’

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/nancy-p...r-trauma-and-fright-they-instilled-in-people/

 

Unity my ass.

 

There is no unity with traitors nor should there be.

Pelosi dunks on GOP representative for voting against restaurant revitalization

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is fed up with Republican legislators trying to take credit for policies they opposed.

"Unlike the Republicans, who vote against the bill, and then show up and take credit. 'Oh, I got -- I voted for restaurants.' No, you didn't vote for restaurants to have a grant," Pelosi reminded. "You didn't."

"And so, a number of [Republicans] are trying to take credit for something they did not vote for, and that -- that's not unusual. Vote no, take the dough. That's what Republicans do, but that doesn't help people," she explained.

Pelosi said "Exhibit A" was a tweet by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Stefanik voted against the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in the American Rescue Plan, but is urging businesses in her district to apply, which can provide up to $5 million per restaurant location.

Nancy Pelosi
@SpeakerPelosi
Exhibit A


Rep. Elise Stefanik
@RepStefanik

TOMORROW at 12PM the @SBAgov Restaurant Revitalization Fund will open to assist restaurants and food establishments in their recovery efforts. If you think you qualify for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, visit http://sba.gov today to get started

1:25 PM · Apr 29, 2021

https://www.rawstory.com/american-rescue-plan-restaurant-revitalization-fund/

 

But we can reward a traitor with a position in the biden/harris inner circle, eh?

 

I should have posted this in the joke thread.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrectionists would have "had a battle on their hands" if they encountered her — declaring she is a "street fighter."

 

Nancy Antoinette a street fighter??
What, she's gonna throw chocolate ice cream at them?





Ah. Of course. She learned that from The BLM and antifa people. A bottle of frozen water makes for a good weapon that isn't illegal until you throw it at a cop.

 

Pelosi Is ‘Very Confident’ Democrats ‘Will Hold Majority’ After 2022 Midterms

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that she believes Democrats will hold the majority in the House after the 2022 midterm elections, saying that her confidence stems from recent census results.

According to the Census Bureau, Texas gained two seats in the House, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon gained one seat. Meanwhile, California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia lost one seat each.

“Elections are always a contest, and you see what happens in them,” Pelosi told CBS News on Thursday. “But I feel very confident that the Democrats will hold the majority after the next election. I think that we’re—for all the huffing and puffing the Republicans are doing, these numbers were not as good for them as they had hoped. They wanted three in Texas, two in Florida, and the rest.”

Pelosi added that “much of the growth in many of these places that picked up more numbers, more—more members in Congress, the growth was from Hispanics, African-Americans and the rest, so we’ll see where those votes go.”

Typically, the party of the president loses seats during midterm elections. Democrats were able to reclaim the House majority in 2018, coming two years after former President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory.

At the same time, Pelosi has an extremely thin majority, leading the slimmest one since World War I. The House is currently split at 218 Democrats to 212 Republicans with five vacancies, meaning Pelosi can only lose two—but not any more—Democratic votes to pass legislation, and if there is a tie, the bill fails.

But this is right now,” Pelosi told CBS. “The best politics of all is to get the job done for the American people, the blueprint that was put forth by the president last night to meet the needs of the American people. That’s what we’re about. We’re not worrying about who’s going to be speaker two years from now.”

In mid-April, Pelosi’s majority shrunk after Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) was sworn into office. And so far, three Democrats have left the House of Representatives to join the Biden administration, including presidential adviser Cedric Richmond, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge, and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Earlier this month, longtime Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) died after a battle with cancer, and there is one vacant seat for Republicans after Rep. Ron Wright died in February.

Top Democrats in the House have expressed optimism that they can push through their favored bills.

“Frankly, we’re doing OK as Democrats as you look at this quarter,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said in March about their slim majority.

 

This congress will continue to run amuck with it's social engineering and no limits spending.
After the 2022 election Congress will either spend the next two years (at least) cleaning up the mess.

 

I suspect it'll take more than 2 years to bring around and realign the Republic

Could take 6 years.

 

Nah, we're resilient, us Mericans.

 

Yeppers...we got us some of them there phones and pens.

 

Pelosi mocks House GOP looking for 'non-threatening female' to replace Liz Cheney

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/551698-pelosi-mocks-house-gop-looking-for-non-threatening-female

 

Perhaps Nancy Antoinette can assist the GOP by holding an ice cream social and inviting "non-threatening female" candidates?

 

Schumer: 'The big lie is spreading like a cancer' among GOP

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/552846-schumer-the-big-lie-is-spreading-like-a-cancer-among-gop

 

And still the real lie is that voting law changes being offered by the states are aimed at minorities, women and despicables.

 

Pelosi Suggests Marjorie Taylor Green Face Ethics Review After AOC Confrontation: 'Beneath the Dignity' of the House