SAFE Banking Act House vote, CU testimony this week

Both chambers of Congress are in session this week, and the House will include the CUNA-supported Safe and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in a list of bills it will consider starting Monday evening.

The bipartisan SAFE Banking Act would provide protections for financial institutions serving cannabis-based businesses where it is legal. It passed the House in 2019 in a historic vote, and CUNA testified before both House and Senate committees in support.

A Senate version of the SAFE Banking Act was also introduced in March by a bipartisan group of 30 Senators.

The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee will conduct a hearing Wednesday featuring a CUNA member witness, Hope CU President/CEO Bill Bynum. The hearing is titled, ““An Economy that Works For Everyone: Investing in Rural Communities."

Other hearings CUNA is engaged with this week include:

• Tuesday, 10 a.m. (ET): House Small Business Committee hearing, “Update on SBA's Pandemic Response Programs;”
• Tuesday 10 a.m. (ET): House Financial Services Committee markup; and
• Thursday, 10 a.m. (ET): Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing: “21st Century Communities: Capitalizing on Opportunities in the Clean Energy Economy."