Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) says passing marijuana banking reform legislation this year is a “high priority,” reiterating his support as congressional attention shifts from funding the government to other outstanding legislative items.
In a brief interview with AskAPol on Thursday, Brown was asked about the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act that cleared his panel in September and now awaits floor action.
“It’s a high priority,” he said, adding that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “wants to do it” and “I want to do it.”
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), ranking member of the Banking Committee, is “not up for it,” Brown said. But “plenty of members of the committee are.”
The chairman, who also recently told AskAPol in a separate interview that advancing the legislation is complicated by current House dynamics, said he hasn’t spoken to Vice President Kamala Harris about the SAFER Banking Act—nor was he aware that Harris held a cannabis clemency event last week where she called for broader reform.
“I didn’t know about it,” Brown said, though he noted that “we passed legalization in Ohio, as you know, by a wide margin.”
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EXCLUSIVE: Senate Banking Chair Sherrod
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