Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, today, because federally regulated banks and other financial institutions may face prosecution if they offer their services to businesses selling legal cannabis products across 47 States, D.C., and four U.S. territories, many legal businesses are forced to operate in a cash-only business, making them targets for theft and creating opportunities for tax evasion and money laundering.

It is simply unfair to deprive legal, State-approved businesses of financial services any longer. Social equity will go further by allowing businesses to come out of the shadows.

As chair of the House Committee on Agriculture's Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research, I am pleased that this legislation was made inclusive of hemp as it moved through the process. I have heard from a number of legal hemp businesses that have experienced similar issues.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter), my colleague, for the inclusion of the territories.

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