Amid swirling reports that marijuana banking provisions may be excluded from a yet-to-be-filed omnibus spending bill, some lawmakers are pushing back, while advocacy groups and industry stakeholders are stepping up their calls for action in what’s left of Congress’s lame duck session.
To be clear, the text of the final appropriations package has not been released and negotiations are ongoing. But it was reported on Tuesday that appropriators have reached an agreement on a “framework” for the legislation. What’s troubling for supporters, however, is a brief post from a Punchbowl News reporter saying that the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking “will not be included” in the package.
This comes on the heels of comments from the GOP Senate whip who said he’s not expecting the cannabis proposal to be attached to the spending bill, either. And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who applauded the exclusion of SAFE Banking from a must-pass defense bill last week, has repeatedly signaled that he’d fight against attempts to advance it through appropriations as well.
In his latest comments on the spending package on Wednesday, McConnell said that “poison pills…will need to stay away from the process.”
“Even then, the calendar will still
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