US Congressman Ed Perlmutter’s latest attempt to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act has failed after it was removed from a proposed competitiveness bill.
The act, which would unlock the US financial system for cannabis companies, was previously attached to the National Defence Authorisation Act before being decoupled by a Senate committee.
Perlmutter said: “The Senate continues to ignore the risk to public safety of requiring cannabis companies to trade entirely in cash.
“As a result of the Senate’s inaction, people continue to be killed, businesses continue to be robbed, and cannabis industry employees and business owners continue to be locked out of the financial system.”
Democrats are now considering tying the bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives on its own last year but was not considered by the Senate, to a spending measure.
