House Appropriations Committee Passes Funding Minus SAFE Banking Language

Posted by Ryan Fitzgerald on June 14, 2024

In a vote Thursday night, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $23.6 billion measure to establish funding for the Fiscal Year 2025 Treasury Department and several independent federal agencies. In a 33-24 vote, the committee adopted an en bloc “manager’s amendment” that removed language that would have barred federal agencies from penalizing financial institutions that serve legal cannabis businesses.

Supporters of SAFE/SAFER banking hope to debate it on the House floor in hopes of attaching it to one of the other funding packages working through the House. In a Politico article, Maryland Representative Steny Hoyer (D) said SAFE/SAFER banking simply “allows people to not have to hide their money — that they earn legally — in the mattress and can avail themselves of the facilities of federal banks.”

This is just a first of what we would expect to be several attempts to move the SAFE or SAFER Banking language on important or must-pass legislation before the end of the 118^th Congress. GoWest continues advocate for the passage of this legislation with the appropriate offices and leadership, and we will continue to monitor and update GoWest credit unions on the issue.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Federal Advocacy.