Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), ranking member of the Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions Subcommittee, are seeking more time to consider the full range of consequences regarding cannabis banking legislation.
The representatives forwarded correspondence last week to Chairs Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) requesting they delay the bill’s consideration until the Committee has a better understanding of the full range of consequences enacting such legislation may trigger.
In their letter, McHenry and Luetkemeyer asked a series of questions they said must be answered to conduct thorough oversight and review, before advancing the legislation.
Among the list of questions, they asked about what changes would be necessary for U.S. banking laws to implement the SAFE Banking Act or other legislation creating a safe harbor for cannabis-related businesses and how would individual agencies enforce Bank Secrecy Act requirements following implementation of the SAFE Banking Act. They also questioned whether individual agencies would enforce anti-money laundering (AML) regulations following the enactment of the SAFE Banking Act and would AML reforms be necessary going forward.
McHenry and Luetkemeyer are urging the Committee to hold the bill and any related legislation.