SAFE Banking Act Removed From Federal Defense Spending Bill – Finance and Banking

The U.S. House of Representatives Rules Committee declined to
amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2022 (the “NDAA”) to include the Secure And Fair Enforcement Banking Act of
2021 (the “SAFE Banking Act”). The House Rules
Committee’s action follows similar action from the Senate.

The SAFE Banking Act, introduced by Representative Ed Perlmutter
(D-CO), would enable cannabis-related legitimate businesses and
service providers to access financial services. The purpose of the
bill is to reduce the amount of cash held in legitimate cannabis
businesses, thereby improving the safety of the businesses, their
employees and the communities that they are situated in.

In a statement on the bill’s removal from the NDAA, Mr.
Perlmutter expressed frustration at the Senate’s
inaction, reporting that the bill “has been sitting in the
Senate for three years and with every passing day their
unwillingness to deal with the issue endangers and harms
businesses, their employees, and communities across the
country.”

Commentary Jodi Avergun

This is a disappointing, but not unexpected, development. Trying
to add SAFE Banking to the Defense Authorization Act was a bold
move by legalization proponents to try to get a relatively
noncontroversial and widely supported piece of legislation passed.
SAFE Banking, if enacted, would significantly widen the financial
market opportunities for state legal cannabis businesses. However,
SAFE Banking does not address the reparation and social justice
goals of Senate leadership, and, as such, its removal from the
Defense Authorization Act was preordained.

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