Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says that work continues to pass a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, and another Democratic senator is urging voters to keep up the pressure as lawmakers head back to their districts for the summer. But despite their optimism, a key committee chairman and the measure’s Republican top sponsor are still stuck in an intractable blame game.
Action on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act is on hold for at least a month as Congress breaks for the August recess—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who had hoped that the bill would advance during the summer session, as Schumer had planned as part of an ambitious legislative agenda. But the majority leader said “we’re working on it,” according to a lobbyist who briefly spoke with him twice on Wednesday.
Don Murphy of the Marijuana Leadership Campaign says that’s the simple response he got from Schumer after asking him in passing about the status of the legislation. Notably, Murphy told Marijuana Moment on Thursday, the leader declined to take an opportunity to pin blame on the GOP side for the delays after being asked what the “holdup” was.
“I’m looking for the silver lining, right?”
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