Democratic and Republican senators are challenging the idea that there’s enough GOP support for a bipartisan marijuana banking bill to pass the Senate, with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) both raising new questions about the measure’s prospects as Congress heads toward a lame duck session following the November elections.
In a series of interviews published by The Dales Report on Thursday, multiple senators addressed—or outright ignored—questions about the status of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act that’s still pending floor action nearly a year after clearing committee.
Warren accused certain GOP members of overstating support for the legislation within their caucus, while also taking a hit at former President Donald Trump for doing “nothing” on cannabis reform during his time in office as he makes a policy pivot ahead of the election by coming out in support of the marijuana banking bill and federal rescheduling.
The senator was asked about why she thought the SAFER Banking Act has yet to be brought to the floor, and she said while the reform “should have been done years ago” and she remains hopeful it could still come up during the lame duck session, the problem ultimately comes down to insufficient support among Republicans.
“Look, we’ve got multiple paths for getting this done—and yet somehow we have never been able to stitch it all together,” Warren said. “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.”
Coming up at 4pm EST today! Full episode on feedback received this week in Washington concerning the #cannabisindustry. #WashingtonDC #safebanking #yeson3 $MSOS @V_arrell @ElGuapoTron4000 @stoolpresidente https://t.co/du5lYhXBjc pic.twitter.com/rERiw8lsBt
— The Dales Report (@TheDalesReport) September 19, 2024
Without bipartisan consensus, that also means putting the SAFER Banking Act on the floor would take up more of the chamber’s limited time to move on various other legislative priorities for the remainder of the session, including must-pass appropriations legislation to keep the government funded.
“As you know, we’re under a lot of pressure to get a lot of other things done, as well as to get a lot of judges confirmed,” the senator said. “I very much want to see this happen, and have been pushing for it for years—not just as a passive passenger, but actually trying to make this happen.”
“I am hopeful that we can get it done in a lame duck, but I do understand this: With a Republican majority, we are never going to get this done,” Warren argued.
Pressed on claims from certain GOP members such as SAFER Banking Act lead GOP cosponsor Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) that the Republican votes are there to pass the bill, Warren pushed back. She disputed the idea that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is principally to blame for inaction on the measure, claiming that “all of the Democrats” are on board with the reform and “we just need a handful of Republican votes.”
“They’re just not there when it comes time to sit down and vote,” she said.
Tuberville, a GOP senator who has voiced support for the cannabis banking bill but has not cosponsored it, told The Dales Report that while he places blame on Schumer for not bringing the SAFER Banking Act to a floor vote, he also said Republicans “just don’t have enough votes” to pass it even if it did come up.
“First of all, you’ve gotta remember that in the Senate, if you don’t have majority, you don’t control the floor,” he said. “They put the bills on the floor, and we can get on our hands and knees and beg, and they still wouldn’t do it. If it’s not gonna benefit the Democratic Party, they don’t care about the American people.”
Based on his assessment that the GOP caucus wouldn’t be able to help Democrats reach the 60-vote threshold, though, however, it seems unlikely that the party’s membership is groveling for floor action on the cannabis measure.
Daines, for his part, said that Trump’s recently support for cannabis banking “helps” move the agenda, adding that this reform proposal is “about public safety” and “we need to get this done.”
“Let’s get a vote on it. Let’s get an up-or-down vote and put your name on record,” he told The Dales Report. “Are you supporting this or opposing it? I think we’ve got the votes, but it’s going to be an after-election kind of discussion.”
Beyond Daines, there are four other GOP cosponsors on the current bill (and seven on an earlier iteration filed this session), but Warren is suggesting that a larger handful is necessary to ensure its success if Schumer were to bring it to the floor.
However, while the senator asserted that all Democratic members back the legislation, that remains to be seen. For example, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) voted against the bill in committee last year after his equity-centric amendments were defeated, and he’s yet to say whether he’d similarly protest the measure on the floor if his concerns aren’t addressed.
Warnock was also approached by The Dales Report and asked to comment on his current position on the bill, but he ignored the questions.
When we asked GA Senator @ReverendWarnock about his #SAFEBanking vote, citing wealthy investors would benefit he said to “get your quotes straight” .. here was our second encounter $MSOS @V_arrell pic.twitter.com/Q3JO2xnyXS
— The Dales Report (@TheDalesReport) September 18, 2024
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee who has opposed the reform, was separately asked what he made of Trump’s policy shift in support of cannabis reform such as the SAFER Banking Act that he voted against, but he said simply, “I’m not quite sure” about it.
Asked about the potential of the banking bill receiving a floor vote, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) said “the challenge has always been the people carrying the bill don’t know how to get it done.”
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) said that while he’s “hoping to make progress on SAFE Banking, a lot of that will be determined after the election when we’re in that so-called lame duck period.
“But I hope we can make progress on it,” he said, adding that he doesn’t “want to speculate” about why Schumer hasn’t brought the legislation to the floor and that the majority leader has “got to deal with a lot of major issues, and I know he’s trying to advance it.”
“But like a lot of things around here, it’s a time-crunch,” he said. “I think we’re going to have a lot more time in that post-election period.”
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) also recently argued in an interview with Marijuana Moment that the main barrier to getting the marijuana banking bill across the finish line is a lack of sufficient Republican support in the chamber. And he said if Trump is serious about seeing the reform he recently endorsed enacted, he needs to “bring us some Republican senators.”
Warren also voiced skepticism about Trump’s marijuana policy pivot, which also involved an endorsement of federal rescheduling and a Florida cannabis legalization ballot initiative.
“Donald Trump can suddenly arrive on the scene and say he’s the biggest supporter ever. He was president for four years. The Republicans were in control. And exactly how much [did Congress] move forward on SAFE Banking? Nothing,” she told The Dales Report. “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’re going to do it, and they keep not making it happen,” the senator said.
“Look, I have talked with Senator Schumer about this multiple times. But don’t kid yourself: If he has the votes, he’ll put it on the floor,” Warren said. “But we don’t actually have the votes here. And the problem is not that we don’t have the Democrats. We’re all lined up for this. The problem is the Republicans.”
Meanwhile, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) also recently reiterated the need to advance the SAFER Banking Act as a public safety imperative, promoting it in a video this week where he tours an Ohio cannabis business. In a recent interview with Marijuana Moment, he also said that “we don’t have enough Republicans, we don’t think.”
Many would like to see a Senate roll call vote on the bill before the end of this Congress—at the very least so members are forced to go on the record amid conflicting reports about whether it has enough support to reach the steep 60-vote threshold to advance to passage. But if it were to fail, some feel that setback could prove all the more damaging to its long-term prospects of success.
Separately Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Monday that the cannabis banking bill is one example of a measure that should be brought to the floor imminently following Trump’s statement, as well as recent reporting about unearthed audio where former President Richard Nixon could be heard conceding that cannabis is “not particularly dangerous.”
“I would suggest moving policies that, instead of further dividing us, makes a difference for the American people, including for our veterans, law enforcement, small businesses, and more,” the congressman, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, said. “It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
Whether Johnson would be willing to take the congressman’s advice remains to be seen, however. Prior to becoming speaker, Johnson consistently opposed cannabis reform, including on incremental issues like cannabis banking and making it easier to conduct scientific research on the plant.
Overall, there’s been sizable skepticism about the sincerity of Trump’s newfound cannabis position, including among bipartisan lawmakers.
For example, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Andy Harris (R-MD) argued recently that the policy pivot amounts to a campaign ploy to attract voters ahead of the November election. Harris’s campaign has also recently accused Trump of lying about his support for marijuana reform, stating that his “blatant pandering” runs counter to his administration’s record on cannabis.
While the campaign seems willing to call out Trump on his marijuana platform, it has so far declined to detail the Democratic nominee’s own position—even though she privately reaffirmed her support for legalization during a roundtable event at the White House event with marijuana pardon recipients in March and also sponsored a bill to end federal prohibition during her time in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report last month explaining that federal marijuana rescheduling is “unlikely” to improve banking access for state-legal cannabis businesses, But Blumenauer similarly argued that the reclassification move, when it is enacted, could have a political effect that spurs action on the separate marijuana banking legislation.
It should also be noted that the proposed rescheduling action isn’t guaranteed. Following a public comment period, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last month announced that it has scheduled an administrative hearing in December to gain additional input before potentially finalizing the rule. It’s possible that rulemaking could extend into January, meaning there’s a chance that the next presidential administration could influence the final outcome.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
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