The SAFE Act has found significant approval so far this session
Congress is going to vote on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act before this summer. The House side of the government will take up the bill by then, at least. Representative Earl Blumenauer, one of the most active cannabis supporters on Capitol Hill, made the assertion last Friday. The SAFE Act has already found a lot of support so far, most recently being approved 45-15 by the House Financial Services Committee.
Blumenauer sees a lot of support coming from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He states, “Nancy Pelosi has always been supportive of cannabis reform. There’s no doubt in my mind what is coming out of the Financial Services Committee will be given the opportunity to proceed to the floor in regular order.”
While the House is in favor of the bill, the Senate is showing more resistance. Blumenauer explains that support in the Senate is “not quite as robust as the situation in the House,” adding, “The situation in the Senate is more fluid. I’m not quite as optimistic but I’m not pessimistic about movement in the Senate. We find more people who are outspoken in support of it.”
However, a couple of key individuals are going to prove to be crucial. The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, helped to pave the way for the 2018 Farm Bill. Another, former Senate Speaker John Boehner, has powerful political connections and would love to see the SAFE Act given the green light. He is on the board of Acreage Holdings and is the honorary chairman of the National Cannabis Roundtable.