Two key senators behind the push for a bipartisan cannabis banking bill seem to be at odds over what it’s going to take to get a committee vote to send the legislation to the floor. And as time runs short for action in the summer session, a senior GOP staffer tells Marijuana Moment that the key remaining contention is over a single section of the measure that certain Democrats are seeking to amend, which Republicans view as a “non-starter.”
In interviews this week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and lead GOP Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act sponsor Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) shared conflicting stories about the state of negotiations over the legislation.
Brown told Politico that he’s entrusting Daines to shore up more Republican support and specifically get additional members of his caucus to sign onto the SAFE Banking Act as co-sponsors to codify that support.
“We’re not going to take a bill to the floor and have [Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)] undercut it with 58 or 59 votes,” Brown said. “He’s done that many times. So, we want Daines… to sign on the dotted line on this and really commit to getting members to co-sponsor. If they’re serious, they co-sponsor.”
But according to Daines, the issue isn’t a lack of Republican support; it’s the fact that Democratic members are pushing for amendments that would break the agreement that he and the chairman made over the measure as introduced.
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