Amodei Statement on House Passage of the SAFE Banking Act

Statement

Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-02) released the following statement today after the House successfully passed H.R. 1595, the SAFE Banking Act of 2019, legislation that would align state and federal marijuana banking laws to grant state-licensed cannabis businesses access to the federal banking system. This legislation is supported by all of Nevada's Representatives in the House, and its Senate companion bill (S. 1200) is supported by both of Nevada's Senators.

"While current federal law forces legal cannabis-related businesses to operate on a cash basis, the same federal implications do not exist for cities, counties, and states looking to also deposit cash from legal cannabis transactions into the federal banking system. Meaning, state and local governments can show up to the bank with all the cash they want -- and there are no questions asked. In my opinion, it's the height of hypocrisy for the federal government to accept tax money from cannabis-related businesses in Nevada, while at the same time, banning them access to the banking system. Additionally, being forced to operate exclusively on a cash basis, not only makes businesses soft targets for criminal activity, but it prevents the proper enforcement of billions of dollars in revenues for regulatory compliance purposes.

"By allowing state-licensed cannabis businesses access to the federal banking system, this legislation will protect public safety while also allowing law enforcement officials and financial regulators to properly monitor legal cannabis transactions."

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