The US Senate’s Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has warned in a letter to colleagues that passing the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act ‘will not be easy’.
On Sunday (July 09), Schumer published a letter stating that during the upcoming summer work session, the Democrats will ‘continue to work with our Republican colleagues to advance legislation in a range of policy areas’, including the bipartisan bill to ‘safeguard cannabis banking’.
As Business of Cannabis reported recently, the bill has already received a hearing in the Senate Banking Committee in May and its proponents hope it will be taken up for a vote in the panel this month.
Schumer has repeatedly stated that he considers the SAFE Banking Act a legislative priority, but has until now stipulated that it must also incorporate legislation to expunge prior cannabis convictions.
READ MORE: US Senators Aim for SAFE Banking Vote This Month
As Marijuana Moment points out, he has notably left this out of his recent letter, likely in an effort to simplify the bill and make it as palatable as possible for cross-party lawmakers to wave through.
In its current form, insiders have suggested the measure has enough Republican buy-in to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to be passed in the Senate.
“Our agenda is ambitious and with a closely divided Senate, we face an uphill battle on many fronts,” Schumer said.
“It is always my hope that we will be able to find consensus and develop a path forward with our Republican colleagues; but where that is not possible, we must purse all options available for advancing programs to protect and expand America’s middle class.
