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At least 44 Democrats and 15 Republicans in the U.S. Senate—59 total—likely support legislation to provide safe harbor to financial institutions wishing to service state-licensed cannabis businesses, while the stances of another nine senators remain somewhat uncertain.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act (S. 2860) would not only allow state-legal cannabis businesses to veer from being often primarily cash-based operations, but it would also allow industry entrepreneurs to gain access to traditional financial institutions, including access to robust lending opportunities, banking accounts and small-business loans.
The “uncertain” positions of the nine senators are pivotal for passage: The bill would need a 60-vote supermajority to end a possible filibuster—a procedure known as cloture—if brought forward as standalone legislation (not attached as an amendment to must-pass budget reconciliation bills dealing with spending, revenue or the federal debt limit).
While Warnock, for example, was the lone Democrat in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023, he said in another committee hearing two months later that “I am open to SAFER Banking,” providing for his “uncertain” status in this report.
Editor’s note: Detailed stances with brief descriptions for all 100 U.S. senators are listed below.
As the bill now awaits Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to call for a floor vote in the upper chamber, the party leader is also exploring opportunities to attach the bill as a rider to must-pass legislation, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization, in an attempt to get it passed via a simple majority—a parliamentary procedure that overrides the Senate’s filibuster rules. However, Republican leaders like Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., continue to oppose cannabis banking reform, Politico reported, while GOP Senate Whip John Thune, R-S.D., called SAFER Banking’s possible attachment a “nonstarter” for the FAA reauthorization, Bloomberg reported.
While finding 60 votes in a divided Senate doesn’t come easy, it is not an impossible feat. The current makeup of the Senate includes 48 Democrats, three Independents who caucus with the Democratic Party, and 49 Republicans. Last Congress, when the Senate had an even 50-50 split, more than a dozen bills became law after effectively ending a filibuster, according to the Pew Research Center.
This Congress, 32 Republican senators have either publicly opposed or likely oppose the SAFER Banking Act, based on Cannabis Business Times research, but actual votes in the upper chamber could come down to what’s attached to the final legislation when/if Schumer calendars the bill.
Schumer failed to bring a previous version of the legislation to a floor vote last Congress, after the Democratic-controlled House voted, 321-101, to pass the SAFE Banking Act of 2021 as a standalone measure. “The banking bill deals with a small part of [reform] but not what needs to be done. We need a broad, comprehensive bill,” Schumer said in July 2021.
But this Congress, Schumer appears gung-ho on pushing through the incremental reform, which he co-sponsors with 35 other senators: The majority leader said in March that the SAFER Banking Act was among a short list of legislative priorities he plans to advance this year.
Schumer also has said he remains committed to including criminal justice provisions, like the Harnessing Opportunity by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act, to the SAFER Banking Act, as well as the Gun Rights and Marijuana (GRAM) Act, which would allow state-legal cannabis consumers to purchase and possess firearms, even under federal cannabis prohibition.
While U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced the HOPE Act last year in the House, it wasn’t until April 18, 2024, that Sen. Jacky Rosen introduced it in the upper chamber.
And while including the GRAM Act to protect Second Amendment rights for cannabis consumers could be a draw for Republican support, one GOP senator already considers the SAFER Banking Act, as is, a would-be win for the firearms industry.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act, opposes cannabis legalization, but she supports the banking reform bill for the industry because she views it as a way to protect other “disfavored” industries that struggle to gain access to banking, she told Ask a Pol in September 2023.
“In my state, I worry about gun manufacturers,” she said. “[The SAFER Banking Act] was an economic development play for us. So, oil and gas is another industry that is encountering ESG restrictions that pinch their ability to find adequate access to capital. So, I look at this bill as a way to protect industries like the firearms manufacturing industry and oil and gas from the inability to access capital.”
Specifically, the SAFER Banking Act would prevent federal banking regulators from ordering a bank or credit union to close an account based on reputational risk, which extends beyond just the cannabis industry.
Although the SAFER Banking Act also needs to attract support from leaders in the U.S. House—now controlled by Republicans—before possibly arriving on President Joe Biden’s desk this year, the next step in the bill’s pathway toward enactment runs through the Senate.
Below this interactive map, Cannabis Business Times details where all 100 U.S. senators likely stand on the legislation:
Democrats/Independents:
- 41 Support
- 3 Likely Support
- 7 Uncertain
Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.: Supports
Baldwin co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. The second-term senator is also a longtime supporter of medical cannabis, dating back to her 1990s service in the Wisconsin State Assembly, according to cannabis reform advocacy group NORML. In a 2018 debate for reelection, Baldwin said, “We need to know if this is an effective alternative to other drugs for glaucoma or for wasting syndrome or for any number of other conditions.”
Michael Bennet, D-Colo.: Supports
Bennet co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. He wrote in 2022 that “Allowing cannabis businesses operating legally and in compliance with state law to access financial services without federal reprisal would address public safety and compliance challenges, helping communities reduce cash-motivated crimes.”
Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.: Likely Supports
Blumenthal co-sponsored the SAFE Banking Act of 2019 but has not co-sponsored cannabis banking reform legislation since then. In a September 2013 Senate hearing with former U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Blumenthal expressed concerns that federal regulators’ actions to block state-legal cannabis businesses from access to simple banking and financial services would inevitably undermine the viability of state-legal industries. After his home state of Connecticut launched adult-use cannabis sales in January 2023, however, the third-term senator warned parents of the potential dangers associated with children accidentally ingesting THC-infused edibles, saying cannabis poisoning of children is “exploding.” His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Cory Booker, D-N.J.: Supports
Booker is an original co-sponsor of the SAFER Banking Act. In September 2023, Booker said, “This bill will take cannabis banking out of the shadows and give access to the banking system to thousands of small businesses. With the addition of [the] HOPE [Act], it will take a needed step toward restorative justice. For too long, our laws involving marijuana have undermined the ability for small businesses and entrepreneurs from all backgrounds to succeed on a more level playing field with the wealthy and highly capitalized corporations.”
Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio: Supports
As chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Brown pushed the SAFER Banking Act through markup with a 14-9 vote on Sept. 27, 2023. “Regardless about how you feel about states’ efforts to legalize marijuana, this bipartisan bill is necessary,” he said. “It will make it safer for legal cannabis businesses and service providers to operate, to protect their workers first and foremost, and to operate in their communities.”
Laphonza Butler, D-Calif.: Likely Supports
Butler is the senator-designate from California whom Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed after Sen. Dianne Feinstein died in September 2023. Butler hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but she is an original co-sponsor for a federal cannabis legalization bill, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which would deschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and includes a provision to provide fair access to financial services.
Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.: Supports
Cantwell co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act. In February 2024, she wrote on social media: “Last year there were more than 50 robbery attempts at marijuana dispensaries in the State of Washington. This bill will take the target off the backs of our state’s dispensaries by updating federal banking laws so they don’t have to do all their business in cash.” In addition, Cantwell urged the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to keep in place its 2014 guidance that has enabled some financial institutions to provide banking services to state-licensed cannabis businesses.
Ben Cardin, D-Md.: Supports
Cardin has not issued a public statement on the SAFER Banking Act. But Cardin was recently filmed on The Dales Report having a brief conversation with cannabis lobbyist Don Murphy as well as cannabis advocates and former NFL stars Jim McMahon and Ricky Williams, saying, “My view is pretty simple. Legal businesses should be able to [access banking].” In 2018, he signed a bipartisan letter urging Senate Appropriations Committee leaders to respect states’ laws regarding cannabis regulations in their fiscal year appropriations. In 2021, Cardin told Business Insider he’d have to “think about” legalization, but that he’d like Congress to make sure cannabis businesses could access banking and financial services rather than continue relying solely on cash.
Tom Carper, D-Del.: Uncertain
Carper, a career politician since 1983, vocally opposed cannabis reform throughout the majority of his career but took a U-turn as he felt the pressure during a tight primary campaign in 2018, when he signed on as a co-sponsor for a federal legalization bill (the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act) that year. Earlier this year, Carper announced his plans to retire, saying he won’t seek a fifth term in the U.S. Senate in 2024. His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Casey hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act. However, the third-term senator indicated support for drug decriminalization last Congress when he and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, introduced the Clean Slate Act, which aimed to automatically seal federal records of individuals convicted or arrested for simple drug possession. “Automated record sealing is a critical step in the ongoing fight for criminal justice reform,” he said. His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Chris Coons, D-Del.: Supports
Coons co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. The three-time elected senator from Delaware has been supportive of cannabis reform for the past decade, notably with his sponsorship of the Marijuana Effective Drug Studies (MEDS) Act of 2016. That year he said, “When it comes to Americans’ health and well-being, our public policy should be based on scientific research—not outdated assumptions. Dozens of states across the country, including my home state of Delaware, have shown that medical marijuana laws can be implemented safely and effectively.”
Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.: Supports
Cortez Masto co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. She also voted in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. “There are so many Nevada business owners who have opened legal cannabis businesses and created jobs across our state, and they should be able to access the same banking services as all other businesses,” Cortez Masto said following the vote.
Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.: Supports
Duckworth co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. “Forcing our legal cannabis companies in Illinois to continue to operate as all-cash businesses is dangerous for workers, our communities and beyond,” she said in April 2023.
Dick Durbin, D-Ill.: Supports
The Senate Democratic whip since 2005, Durbin has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship of the SAFER Banking Act, but he did co-sponsor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. “Barring legal cannabis businesses from accessing traditional banking services only hurts our economy and puts unnecessary risk on small business owners,” Durbin said in April 2023.
John Fetterman, D-Pa.: Supports
Fetterman co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. He also voted in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. During the committee’s testimonial hearing in May 2023 Fetterman said, “We need to make [cannabis] legal. I just believe it’s a freedom issue. I’ve given hundreds of pardons to people who have had their lives ruined by a BS charge.”
Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.: Supports
Gillibrand co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. “Legal cannabis businesses need access to safe and stable financial services to keep their employees, business and community safe. The SAFE Banking Act is a bipartisan solution that will help grow our economy and enable banks to provide financial services to this industry without fear of being penalized,” she said in May 2023.
Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.: Uncertain
Hassan hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act. She opposed decriminalizing small amounts of cannabis possession during her time as New Hampshire’s governor from 2013-2017, but she did sign a bill expanding the state’s medical cannabis program in 2015. Despite her support of medical cannabis reform, Hassan’s stance on cannabis banking legislation is unclear. Her office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.: Supports
Heinrich co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. On April 20, 2018, Heinrich said, “It’s time to legalize marijuana.”
John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.: Supports
Hickenlooper co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. “Colorado’s cannabis industry is American innovation at its best, but operating in all-cash is stifling its potential and making small businesses a target for crime. It’s time for the federal government to catch up to Colorado,” he said in April 2023.
Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii: Supports
Hirono co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In 2018, she signed a bipartisan letter urging Senate Appropriations Committee leaders to respect states’ laws regarding cannabis regulations in their fiscal year appropriations.
Tim Kaine, D-Va.: Supports
Kaine co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In April 2023, he put out a joint statement with fellow Virginia U.S. Sen. Mark Warner: “No business operating legally and safely should feel the need to conduct their business in all-cash out of fear of unfair penalization from the federal government. It is about time we pass the SAFE Banking Act and ensure that all legal cannabis businesses have access to the financial services they deserve to support their businesses and keep their communities safe.”
Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.: Supports
Kelly co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. While running for his U.S. Senate seat in 2020, the former NASA astronaut said he supported adult-use cannabis legalization in his home state of Arizona, which launched adult-use sales in January 2021.
Angus King Jr., I-Maine: Supports
King co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In May 2023, he said, “A business that follows all state laws should be able to access the banking system—that’s pretty commonsense. As Maine’s cannabis industry has grown in recent years, it has been forced to operate on a cash-only basis. This presents a number of safety, logistical and legal concerns.”
Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.: Supports
Klobuchar co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. While running for president in 2019, she said, “I support the legalization of marijuana and believe that states should have the right to determine the best approach to marijuana within their borders.”
Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.: Supports
Luján co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In addition to cannabis banking reform, Luján also supported advertising for legal cannabis products on TV and radio as a sponsor of the SAFE Advertising Act last Congress.
Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.: Uncertain
Manchin hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act. In 2018, he voted in favor of allowing a cannabis banking amendment to advance as an attachment to a general government funding bill as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. While Manchin does not support broad cannabis legalization, he said in April 2022, “I’m totally committed to medical marijuana. I’ve never heard of anyone ever [overdosing] on medical marijuana. And I have people overdosing right and left on opioids and everything else.” His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Edward Markey, D-Mass.: Supports
Markey has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship of the SAFER Banking Act, but he did co-sponsor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In April 2023, he said, “In Massachusetts and across the country legal cannabis businesses are denied access to basic banking services. It’s unacceptable. We must pass the SAFE Banking Act to increase public safety and give these businesses access to the financial services they need.”
Bob Menendez, D-N.J.: Supports
Menendez co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. He also voted (by proxy) in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. With the introduction of the SAFER Banking Act seven days earlier, Menendez said, “I am glad we finally reached a compromise to solve the public safety threat faced by cannabis businesses operating exclusively in cash and the communities in which they operate. For far too long, the status quo has made these businesses easy targets for criminals—threatening public safety and making it harder for states to regulate.”
Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.: Supports
Merkley is the lead sponsor for both the SAFER Banking Act and a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress, just as he was in previous congresses. After the SAFER Banking Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee via a 14-9 vote on Sept. 27, 2023, Merkley said, “Forcing legal businesses to operate in all-cash is dangerous for our communities; it’s an open invitation to robberies, muggings, money laundering and organized crime—and the only people benefiting from the current system are criminals.”
Chris Murphy, D-Conn.: Supports
Murphy has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship for the SAFER Banking Act, but he did co-sponsor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. A longtime advocate of cannabis reform, Murphy sought to change cannabis’s federal classification in early 2016, when he said, “The federal government is standing in the way of science, standing in the way of good health. We need to depoliticize this issue.”
Patty Murray, D-Wash.: Supports
Murray co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In April 2023, she vowed to push the reform legislation across the finish line and said, “It’s ridiculous that legal cannabis businesses in Washington state are forced to operate entirely in cash—and it puts the safety of their employees and our neighborhoods at risk.”
Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.: Likely Supports
Ossoff hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but he does support broader cannabis legalization. While running for the U.S. Senate in 2020, he told CNBC “I won’t just push for decriminalization; I’ll push for nationwide legalization of cannabis. The prohibition of this substance is irrational. It’s hugely expensive. It has a terrible human toll. The fact that there are people doing time for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses while others are getting rich in the cannabis industry is a grave injustice.”
Alex Padilla, D-Calif.: Supports
Padilla co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In May 2022, he joined a bipartisan group of senators who called for SAFE Banking’s inclusion in the final version of “competitiveness” legislation that was being negotiated between the House and Senate. “Allowing cannabis businesses operating legally and in compliance with state law to access financial services without federal reprisal would address public safety and compliance challenges, helping communities reduce cash-motivated crimes,” the senators wrote.
Gary Peters, D-Mich.: Supports
Peters co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. He also supports broader cannabis legalization. In 2022, Peters said, “By legalizing cannabis at the federal level, we can protect public health and safety, support cannabis businesses as they continue to grow, create jobs, and seek safe, reliable access to banking services, and right past wrongs for many Americans—particularly people of color—who have been unduly punished for minor, nonviolent cannabis offenses.”
Jack Reed, D-R.I.: Supports
Reed has not offered his sponsorship for the SAFER Banking Act nor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. But the fifth-term senator from Rhode Island did vote in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023, (after he took issue with Section 10 of the original legislation). Commenting on changes made to that section in the revised SAFER Banking Act, Reed said, “What we’ve done is we’ve provided the ability for regulators to effectively regulate—to not just react to things that have happened when the horse is literally out of the barn, but to go in there and anticipate.”
Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.: Supports
Rosen co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. After the SAFER Banking Act advanced from a committee markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023, she said, “While Nevada has been regulating cannabis since 2017, legally operating cannabis businesses in our state still cannot access fundamental services like banking and insurance as a result of outdated federal policies.”
Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.: Supports
Sanders co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In 2021, Sanders said, “Marijuana should be legal nationwide. All marijuana convictions must be expunged. It is absurd and idiotic that the federal government considers marijuana to be as dangerous as heroin.”
Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii: Supports
Schatz co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. The former lieutenant governor of Hawaii also sponsors the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act, which aims to safeguard medical cannabis programs for veterans. Last Congress, he sponsored the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law.
Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.: Supports
Senate Majority Leader Schumer co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and said in March that the legislation was on a short list of legislative priorities for the remainder of this year. With the bill’s introduction in September 2023, Schumer said, “For too long, the federal government has continued to punish marijuana users and business owners—even when doing so is actively harmful to our country. … I intend to bring the SAFER Banking Act to the Senate floor with all due speed. I am committed to including the HOPE Act as well as the GRAM Act."
Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.: Uncertain
Shaheen hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act. But in 2018, she did vote (by proxy) in favor of allowing a cannabis banking reform amendment to advance as an attachment to a general government funding bill as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. In 2021, however, she dismissed the possibility of including the SAFE Banking Act as an attachment to the National Defense Authorization Act. In addition, the third-term senator has reservations about adult-use legalization. Shaheen told The Hill in April 2022, “I have concerns about recreational marijuana, and given the substance abuse crisis we have in this country, and we have an issue in New Hampshire and the lack of comprehensive data on how people are affected.” Her office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.: Supports
Sinema co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. She also voted in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. When the revised bill was introduced in September, Sinema said, “I promised Arizonans I’d work with anyone to deliver real, lasting results for our state, and today’s bipartisan introduction represents a promising step forward in our work to make our communities safer and expand economic opportunities for all Arizonans.”
Tina Smith, D-Minn.: Supports
Smith co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. She also voted in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. Earlier that month, she said, “We don’t have the votes to legalize marijuana (yet!)—the SAFE Banking Act is a logical next step. New shops in legalized states like Minnesota should be treated like any other business. Forcing them to operate cash-only is dangerous for the businesses and a pain for consumers.”
Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.: Supports
Stabenow co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. The four-term senator who chairs the Agriculture Committee also supported Michigan’s adult-use legalization in 2018. When she was running for reelection that year, she told VICE News, “It’s time to decriminalize medical and recreational marijuana.”
Jon Tester, D-Mont.: Supports
Tester co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. After the SAFER Banking Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee via a 14-9 vote on Sept. 27, 2023, the third-term senator said, “It’s a commonsense fix that will allow legally operated Montana small businesses to access the financial services they need to thrive while also making our communities safer by cutting down on cash-motivated crimes.”
Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.: Supports
Van Hollen has not offered his sponsorship for the SAFER Banking Act, but the two-term senator from Maryland voted in favor of advancing the legislation out of the Senate Banking Committee during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. In August 2023, he said, “Without these federal guardrails this growing industry has largely operated on a cash basis, which puts these businesses at high risk for theft and makes it more difficult to access capital,” The Baltimore Banner reported.
Mark Warner, D-Va.: Supports
Warner has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship of the SAFER Banking Act, but he did vote in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act out of the Senate Banking Committee during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. He also co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In April 2023, he put out a joint statement with fellow Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine: “No business operating legally and safely should feel the need to conduct their business in all-cash out of fear of unfair penalization from the federal government.”
Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.: Uncertain
Warnock was the lone Democrat in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023, arguing that the legislation would only benefit cannabis investors while leaving behind those most impacted by the drug war. “My fear is that if we pass this legislation, if we greenlight this new industry and the fees and the profits to be made off of it without helping those communities, we will just make the comfortable more comfortable,” he said. However, two months later, during a committee hearing with eight CEOs of the largest banks in the nation, Warnock said, “I want to be clear that I am open to SAFER Banking and more regulatory clarity around cannabis.”
Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.: Supports
Warren co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. She also voted in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. Months earlier, in May 2023, she said, “I think the SAFE Banking Act is a long overdue step to help legal cannabis businesses in Massachusetts and all across the country be able finally to open bank accounts, accept credit cards, and access other basic banking services. Businesses need these services to operate safely and successfully, and workers need the protection from safety risks of working in cash-only businesses.”
Peter Welch, D-Vt.: Supports
Welch has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship of the SAFER Banking Act, but he did co-sponsor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In April 2023, he said, “A legitimate, legal marijuana business shouldn’t be forced to run entirely on cash.”
Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.: Uncertain
Whitehouse, who chairs the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act. The former prosecutor is a proponent for states’ rights regarding cannabis regulation, including in his home state of Rhode Island, according to cannabis reform advocacy group NORML. In 2013, Whitehouse said, “I’m keenly aware of the damage drugs cause in our communities, but I’ve also seen how commonsense reforms can benefit both drug offenders and their families.” His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Ron Wyden, D-Ore.: Supports
Wyden co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. After the SAFER Banking Act advanced from a committee markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023, he said, “The U.S. Senate is finally on its way to making sure that small cannabis businesses can finally get access to banking services just like any other law-abiding businesses—no more wheelbarrows full of cash. The Senate has got to get this important legislation across the finish line for the sake of public safety, for equity, and so that small businesses in my state—and now almost every state—get the chance to grow and compete.”
Republicans:
- 9 Support
- 6 Likely Support
- 22 Oppose
- 10 Likely Oppose
- 2 Uncertain
Barrasso opposed adding the U.S. House-passed SAFE Banking Act to the American COMPETES Act as chair of the Senate Republican Conference in May 2022. The former orthopedic surgeon indicated in a 2022 constituent letter that he opposes medical cannabis, saying that he understands “the impact of a life-long struggle with pain on people’s lives, but there remain legal and proven ways to safely address those concerns as opposed to the unfettered use of any cannabidiol or marijuana product.”
Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.: Likely Opposes
Blackburn voted against an amendment in 2014 that was aimed at prohibiting states from penalizing banks for providing financial services to cannabis businesses when she served in the U.S. House. Less than two months before being elected as a U.S. senator in 2018, Blackburn said she was “open” to legalizing medical cannabis, The Tennessean reported. In September 2023, Blackburn was one of eight Republican U.S. senators who signed a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram urging that cannabis remain as a Schedule I controlled substance. Her office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
John Boozman, R-Ark.: Opposes
Boozman voted in 2018 to block a cannabis banking amendment from being attached to a government funding bill as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. When he served in the U.S. House, Boozman was named to the Speaker’s Task Force for a Drug-Free America in 2003. Now a third-term senator, he also urged his constituents to vote against an adult-use legalization measure, Issue 4, in the lead up to Arkansas’ 2022 election—that measure failed with 56.3% in opposition. “Easy access to marijuana will be bad for safety, health, and quality of life in our state. The unintended consequences aren’t worth the risk,” he said. As the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which is tasked with creating the reauthorization framework for the Farm Bill, which defines hemp, Boozman was asked earlier this year what would happen if the DEA rescheduled cannabis. “I hadn’t thought about it,” he said, Ask a Pol reported.
Braun hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but cannabis reform lobbyist Don Murphy dubbed him as a "SAFE-friendly" lawmaker, indicating he could represent a key vote in crossing that 60-vote threshold in the upper chamber. The Indiana senator has voiced support for states’ rights to legalize medical cannabis, saying in 2019 that “there are too many good reasons why you need to start making that legal for that purpose,” WTWO reported. Following news that broke April 30, 2024, that the DEA plans to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug, Braun said that cannabis reform is “inevitable” and that legalization makes sense, WSBT 22 reported. Braun also sponsors the Industrial Hemp Act with Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., legislation to ease hemp regulators for farmers. Braun is a first-term senator who is the frontrunner to be Indiana’s next governor in the November 2024 election. His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Katie Britt, R-Ala.: Opposes
Britt was among nine senators in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. Britt’s office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Ted Budd, R-N.C.: Opposes
Budd was among four Republican senators who vowed to oppose the SAFER Banking Act if it advances to the Senate floor in a letter they sent to the upper chamber’s party leaders on Sept. 26, 2023. “The significant mental health damage to youth caused by [cannabis] products will only worsen with the passage of the SAFER Banking Act, as the industry will use new investments to increase potency further and bring in new users, including children,” the senators wrote.
Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.: Likely Supports
Capito voted against a cannabis banking amendment in committee in 2015, but the two-term senator from West Virginia hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act in its current rendition. And her position could have changed since first taking office. In September 2023, she told Clarksburg, W.Va.-affiliate WBOY that “if you are creating a cash society, you’re creating a security problem” and that there is a need to “help these banks feel more secure about banking and marijuana businesses for medical marijuana.”
Bill Cassidy, R-La.: Supports
Cassidy has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship of the SAFER Banking Act, but he did co-sponsor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. The second-term senator from Louisiana also co-sponsored the Senate’s 2021 version of the SAFE Banking Act and has voted in favor of multiple SAFE Banking amendments during his time in Congress, according to cannabis reform advocacy group NORML.
Susan Collins, R-Maine: Supports:
Collins has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship of the SAFER Banking Act, but she did co-sponsor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. The fifth-term senator from Maine also co-sponsored the Senate’s 2021 version of the SAFE Banking Act. This shift in support came after Collins spoke out against a cannabis banking amendment in 2015, saying in committee that it would allow “banks to essentially finance dealers of recreational marijuana.” She clarified that she previously supported a similar banking amendment for medical cannabis.
John Cornyn, R-Texas: Opposes
Cornyn was among four Republican senators who vowed to oppose the SAFER Banking Act if it advances to the Senate floor in a letter they sent to the upper chamber’s party leaders on Sept. 26, 2023. “This legislation also compromises the integrity of the United States banking system by giving banks government approval to participate in illegal activity, setting a dangerous new precedent. Allowing banking access to a Schedule I drug sets a dangerous legal precedent and will help facilitate money laundering for drug cartels,” the senators wrote.
Tom Cotton, R-Ark.: Opposes
Cotton took aim at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the day after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the SAFER Banking Act in September 2023, accusing Schumer of attempting to add criminal justice provisions that would let “drug traffickers out of prison” and that “Republicans should have no part in Democratic efforts to encourage more crime.” Cotton also signed a letter in September 2023 urging the DEA to keep cannabis listed as a Schedule I drug.
Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.: Supports
Cramer co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In addition, he was one of three Republicans who voted in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. “This is a bill that has been negotiated for years. I think we negotiated a pretty fragile balance here that will have momentum to get 60 votes in the Senate. Frankly, I think it’ll do as well, if not better, on the floor than it did in the committee,” Cramer told NBC News later that day.
Mike Crapo, R-Idaho: Opposes
Crapo was among nine senators in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. The fifth-term senator from Idaho has a history of opposing cannabis banking reform as the former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. In December 2019, he said, “Significant concerns remain that the SAFE Banking Act does not address the high level potency of marijuana, marketing tactics to children, lack of research on marijuana’s effects, and the need to prevent bad actors and cartels from using the banks to disguise ill-gotten cash to launder money into the financial system.”
Ted Cruz, R-Texas: Opposes
Cruz has been one of the strongest opponents of cannabis reform since taking office as a U.S. senator in 2013. When he teed off against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke leading up to his 2018 reelection, Cruz said, “I don’t support drug legalization. I think drug legalization ends up harming people. I think it particularly hurts young people. It traps them in addiction.” As a member of the Senate Banking Committee in 2019, Cruz declined to comment on the SAFE Banking Act when approached by cannabis industry reporter Natalie Fertig, now at Politico.
Steve Daines, R-Mont.: Supports
Daines co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. He is one of the lead Republicans pushing for the legislation’s passage. Also, he was one of three Republicans who voted in favor of advancing the SAFER Banking Act during the Senate Banking Committee’s markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. “The current all-cash model of legal cannabis businesses makes them targets for theft, tax evasion and organized crime. The key to addressing this risk is by ensuring that all legal businesses have access to the banking system,” he said during the hearing.
Joni Ernst, R-Iowa: Opposes
Ernst hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but the second-term senator opposed allowing cannabis businesses to use mainstream banking services when she was running for reelection in 2020, according to the American Banker. While she co-sponsored the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 to legalize industrial hemp, she opposed legalizing medical cannabis in 2015 in Iowa, saying, “I would like to see additional research done on medical marijuana before we throw it at Iowans.” In October 2022, Ernst said she was “adamantly against” cannabis legalization, The South O’Brien Sun reported.
Deb Fischer, R-Neb.: Likely Opposes
Fischer hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but the second-term senator from one of the least progressive states on cannabis reform has been outspoken in her stance opposing this reform, specifically taking issue with state-level legalization shortly after first taking office as a U.S. senator in 2013. In 2016, she introduced an amendment that would “address marijuana trafficking.” The amendment called for cutting the Department of Justice’s funding unless it began monitoring the effects of state-level cannabis legalization. “Marijuana is being transported across state lines and making its way out of states such as Colorado and into Nebraska’s communities. This drug remains an illegal substance on the federal level and in Nebraska, where our law enforcement officers are working hard to stop the crime and violence associated with its transport,” she said in 2016.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: Likely Opposes
Graham hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but the fourth-term senator has voted to block cannabis banking amendments on multiple occasions, including as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee in 2018. Also, Graham was considered one of three key Republicans who stood in the way of cannabis reform during his time as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2019 and 2020, Rolling Stone reported. However, Graham indicated an openness to medical cannabis reform in April 2022, saying, “Medical marijuana, I’ve heard from many people in our state, seems to have some value,” WCSC reported. His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa: Likely Opposes
Grassley sent a letter Sept. 28, 2023, to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., raising his concerns “about the Senate’s ongoing prioritizing of legislation relaxing marijuana laws” the day after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the SAFER Banking Act. “Congress should develop tools to dismantle violent crime, fentanyl distribution networks, and the cartels. Instead, you are advancing legislation, now titled the ‘SAFER Banking Act,’ which could equip criminal actors with resources to expand their influence,” Grassley wrote. Also, in his opening remarks during a Senate Drug Caucus hearing on April 30, 2024, Grassley said the SAFER Banking Act would increase organized crime, including Chinese money laundering.
Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.: Opposes Hagerty was among nine senators in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. The next day, he wrote on social media, “Senate Banking Dems blocked my amendment to the SAFER Banking Act to prevent drug cartels from laundering fentanyl and meth proceeds via marijuana sales, despite lethal drugs—most coming from Mexico across the southern border—killing more than 100,000 Americans per year.”
Hawley said May 1, “I’m opposed” to the SAFER Banking Act “until they change the underlying schedule,” Ask a Pol reported. While Hawley has focused on building a “tough on crime” reputation since taking his U.S. Senate seat in 2019, the former attorney general of Missouri supports a regulated medical cannabis market, according to FOX4 News. Moreover, he was one of eight Republicans who voted alongside Democrats in April 2023 to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to simply study cannabis as a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. However, Hawley opposes adult-use legalization. “Federal laws banning marijuana have been on the books for decades, and I believe we should maintain this policy,” he wrote in a December 2022 constituent letter. His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
John Hoeven, R-N.D.: Likely Supports
Hoeven indicated his support of cannabis banking reform in a 2019 interview with Prairie Public Broadcasting. “This is a matter of safety and actually preventing fraud or illegality by allowing these businesses that are legal enterprises to work with the banking system,” he said. This comment came after he voted in 2018 to block a cannabis banking amendment from being attached to a government funding bill as member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A third-term senator, Hoeven is the former governor of North Dakota who also served eight years as the president of the Bank of North Dakota.
Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.: Likely Opposes
Hyde-Smith hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but she voted in 2018, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to block a cannabis banking amendment from being attached to a government funding bill. Hyde-Smith, who switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 2010, was elected to her current U.S. Senate term in 2020 in the same election that Mississippi voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis. “I just hope we can work through this and make it livable,” she said of the initiative. Her office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Ron Johnson, R-Wis.: Likely Supports
Johnson indicated his potential support for cannabis banking reform in an October 2022 debate, when he said that he thinks cannabis legalization “ought” to be a state-by-state decision. “I think the only thing on [a] federal basis that doesn't make any sense, for where marijuana is legal, that we’re not able to use a banking system so these marijuana companies have mountains of cash, which just leads to a potential for crime,” he said. “So, I can see federal legislation to open up the banking system to those states where you have legalized marijuana.”
John Kennedy, R-La.: Opposes
Kennedy was among nine senators in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. The second-term senator has been outspoken about his opposition to cannabis reform since assuming office in 2017.
James Lankford, R-Okla.: Opposes
Lankford was among four U.S. Republican senators who signed a Sept. 26, 2023, letter to the upper chamber’s party leaders vowing to oppose the SAFER Banking Act if it advances to the Senate floor. “The chief justification for SAFER Banking is founded on the myth that marijuana dispensaries are cash-only businesses,” the senators wrote. In addition, Lankford led a bicameral letter in September 2023 urging the Drug Enforcement Administration to keep cannabis listed as a Schedule I drug.
Mike Lee, R-Utah: Likely Supports
Lee indicated his openness to cannabis banking reform in a 2019 interview with The Federalist. “This is a public safety problem to have this much cash in circulation,” he said. “At a minimum, we’re going to have to lift the banking restriction. I don’t see another way around it.” The third-term senator also said in 2019 that keeping cannabis controlled as a Schedule I substance “is probably not realistic,” The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.: Supports
Lummis co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In addition, she was one of three Republicans in the Senate Banking Committee to vote in support of advancing the SAFER Banking act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. “This legislation will help make our communities and small businesses safer by giving legal cannabis businesses access to traditional financial institutions, including bank accounts and small business loans,” Lummis wrote in September. “It also prevents federal bank regulators from ordering a bank or credit union to close an account based on reputational risk.”
Roger Marshall, R-Kan.: Opposes
Marshall was recorded as not voting on the SAFE Banking Act in September 2019, when the legislation passed the lower chamber during his time serving as a representative in the U.S. House. But the first-term senator from Kansas has publicly opposed cannabis reform, expressing skepticism in 2017 that the plant has medicinal benefits. In 2018, he said, “I have seen the horrible side effects of marijuana use. I don’t want any part of marijuana in Kansas,” the Salina Journal reported. Marshall also claimed in August 2023 that cannabis is being laced with fentanyl (although, overdose prevention experts have debunked this claim).
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.: Opposes
McConnell prevented myriad cannabis reform bills, including the SAFE Banking Act, from reaching the Senate floor during his time as majority leader from 2015 to 2020. And he’s continued to block SAFE Banking’s advancement during his time as minority leader, too. When the SAFE Banking Act was excluded from a defense spending package in December 2022, he said, “Unrelated nonsense like easier financing for illegal drugs was kept out [of the bill].”
Jerry Moran, R-Kan.: Likely Opposes
Moran voted against an amendment to allow state-licensed cannabis businesses to work with financial institutions for traditional banking services as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee in 2015. He voted the same way on a similar amendment in 2018. As it relates to medical cannabis still being prohibited in Kansas, Moran said in January 2023, “We just don’t know what the facts are about the value: Does this cure? Does it treat? And I think there’s some evidence that it does, but again, I’d leave that to the scientists and medical providers,” NBC-affiliate KSNT reported. Moreover, he was one of eight Republicans who voted alongside Democrats in April 2023 for a bill, which was ultimately defeated, to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to simply study cannabis as potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.
Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.: Opposes
Mullin voted against the SAFE Banking Act in 2019 and again in 2021 while serving as a representative in the U.S. House. The first-term senator also said in 2019 that Oklahoma’s medical cannabis law “turns my stomach” since the plant remains a Schedule I drug under federal law and that he would never “vote to legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form,” Muskogee Phoenix reported.
Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska: Supports
Murkowski has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship of the SAFER Banking Act, but she did co-sponsor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. In February 2023, Murkowski said, “Alaskans voted to legalize marijuana, and since that time, numerous law-abiding businesses have been established in communities across the state. This legislation ensures that Alaskan business owners can utilize safe financial services—just like any other legal business—instead of forcing them to continue with all-cash operations and restricted access to banks, which only serve to increase a risk of crime and threaten public safety.”
Rand Paul, R-Ky.: Supports
Paul has yet to sign on for co-sponsorship of the SAFER Banking Act, but he did co-sponsor a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. The libertarian-leaning, third-term senator was actually the first major-party presidential candidate to publicly seek support from the cannabis industry during a fundraiser event in 2015, Yahoo Finance reported. He also co-sponsored the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act that year. In July 2023, he said in regard to the SAFE Banking Act, “I think we have over 60 votes [in the Senate]. Who they are, I’m not sure,” Politico reported.
Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.: Opposes
Ricketts was among four U.S. Republican senators who signed a Sept. 26, 2023, letter to the upper chamber’s party leaders vowing to oppose the SAFER Banking Act if it advances to the Senate floor. “We will remain opposed to liberalizing drug laws and will fight the SAFER Banking Act to protect our youth from dangerous policies that would result in increased promotion of marijuana use,” the senators wrote.
Jim Risch, R-Idaho: Opposes
Risch hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but the former governor of Idaho is a staunch opponent of cannabis reform, a position highlighted by his recent attempt to sway the DEA to keep the plant classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law. In a September 2023 social media post, he wrote, “Facts and science matter—both of which would require DEA to enforce our nation’s drug laws and reject any effort to remove marijuana from Schedule I.”
Mitt Romney, R-Utah: Likely Opposes
Romney hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but the former governor of Massachusetts has taken an anti-cannabis stance during much of his long political career, notoriously saying in a 2016 CNN interview, “Marijuana makes people stupid.” While Romney said he supported medical cannabis in the leadup to Utah’s 2018 election, he opposed the state’s cannabis ballot measure, saying that he preferred a legislative solution, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. In March 2024, Romney led a trio of Republican senators—including Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho—in writing a letter to the head of the DEA arguing that rescheduling cannabis would violate an international treaty. His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Mike Rounds, R-S.D.: Opposes
Rounds was among nine senators in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. “To me, this legislation we’re debating today is fundamentally flawed,” he said during the hearing. “If it were to become law, the bill would give special protections to businesses conducting a federally illicit activity—protections that legal businesses simply do not enjoy. Further, these businesses will retain these enhanced protections if federal laws were to change. That means that cannabis businesses will forever be considered a protected industry, an industry where banks enjoy substantive immunity from regulations.”
Marco Rubio, R-Fla.: Uncertain
Rubio indicated his potential support for easing banking restrictions on the cannabis industry in 2019. “I think you can be against marijuana and still understand that if it’s going to be a legalized product, we need to be able to control it through our banking system,” he said in a Politico interview. However, the previous year, Rubio voted (by proxy) to block a cannabis banking amendment from being attached to a government funding bill as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The third-term senator has also opposed cannabis legalization since taking his seat in 2011. His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.: Likely Supports
Schmitt hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but the first-term senator from Missouri indicated his potential support for the SAFE Banking Act in a July 2023 constituent letter. “As a member of the Senate, I hope to advance responsible, pragmatic legislation on this topic,” he wrote. The former attorney general of Missouri was one of eight Republicans who voted alongside Democrats in April 2023 for a bill, which was defeated, to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to simply study cannabis as potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. In addition, Schmitt, whose son was born with a rare genetic condition causing tumors on his organs and who also has epilepsy, supported a bill in 2014—as a member of the Missouri state Senate—that aimed to allow CBD oil to be used to treat epilepsy, St. Louis Public Radio reported.
Rick Scott, R-Fla.: Likely Opposes
Scott hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but Communications Director McKinley Lewis confirmed with CBT that he likely opposes the legislation. As the former governor of Florida, Scott signed the state’s medical cannabis legislation into law in 2017, after 71% of voters supported a constitutional ballot measure in the 2016 election. Despite the consumption of medical cannabis in smokable forms being written into the amendment, Scott enacted law that banned smokable cannabis—such as flower and prerolls—and fought to keep that ban in place even after a circuit court judge ruled the ban unconstitutional, according to The Associated Press. The ban wasn’t lifted until current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to end it in January 2019. Scott also has taken a public stance against adult-use legalization. “I don’t support that. I’ve had family members who have had a lot of drug issues, and so I’m not going to do it,” he said in 2022, CNSNews reported.
Tim Scott, R-S.C.: Opposes
Scott was among nine senators in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. When the Banking Committee, of which he is the ranking member, hosted testifiers on the SAFE Banking Act in May 2023, Scott said, “The Department of Justice and national law enforcement groups have expressed concerns that [the] SAFE Banking Act would create loopholes in our money laundering laws, making it harder to catch criminals that traffic weapons, fentanyl and even people—much harder—which is a consequence that we must eliminate if this bill becomes law.”
Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska: Supports
Sullivan co-sponsors the SAFER Banking Act and co-sponsored a previous version of the bill, the SAFE Banking Act, this Congress. With Alaskans voting to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2014, Sullivan said in 2023 that he worries cannabis businesses have become targets of crime without access to traditional banking services, the Anchorage Daily News reported. “To me, that is the overriding issue: safety. And I think that’s really hard to argue against,” he said.
Thune, one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, said that recent talks of possibly attaching the SAFER Banking Act to must-pass Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation is “a nonstarter” for the legislation, Bloomberg reported May 1. This tracks with his previous stance on the cannabis banking reform. In 2020, Thune called the U.S. House’s attachment of the SAFE Banking Act to a $3-trillion stimulus relief bill “crazy stuff.” As the Senate majority whip at the time, Thune said on the chamber floor, “in case Democrats didn’t realize, Americans aren’t suffering from a lack of cannabis right now. They’re suffering from a lack of employment.” Thune, who could replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as the party leader in the Senate later this year, also said in 2021 that as the nation’s views continue to evolve on cannabis: “How we deal with it nationally I think is still an open question.”
Thom Tillis, R-N.C.: Likely Opposes
Tillis was among nine senators in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. Leading up to that hearing, Tillis said he didn’t have much interest in bills related to cannabis and that changes to the legislation before the markup “failed to address my concerns,” Politico reported. However, Tillis did co-sponsor bipartisan legislation, the Marijuana Effective Drug Studies (MEDS) Act of 2017, which aimed to expand research into medical cannabis. “When it comes to our nation’s efforts to cure diseases and improve the quality of life for people suffering from ailments, burdensome government regulations shouldn’t be an impediment to legitimate and responsible medical research,” he said with the bill’s introduction.
Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.: Supports
Tuberville has not offered his co-sponsorship for the SAFER Banking Act, but Communications Director Steve Stafford confirmed with CBT in May 2023 that the first-term senator supported a previous version of the bill: the SAFE Banking Act. During a weekly press call in June 2023, Tuberville said, “We have got to make [working in the cannabis industry] safer, and if it is going to be legal in the state of Alabama, which medical marijuana is headed our way, then we have got to make sure people are safe. That is what the SAFE Banking Act is all about,” Alabama Today reported.
JD Vance, R-Ohio: Opposes
Vance was among nine senators in the Senate Banking Committee to oppose advancing the SAFER Banking Act during a markup hearing Sept. 27, 2023. He said he voted against the legislation “due to several public safety-related concerns,” and that the upsides of the act are “overstated,” CBT reported. “The SAFER Banking Act could pave the way for more widespread marijuana use and federal legalization,” he said.
Roger Wicker, R-Miss.: Likely Opposes
Wicker hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act. In 2018, when former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversed Obama-era protections for the cannabis industry by freeing up federal prosecutors to go after state-legal cannabis businesses, Wicker said he supported the decision. “I think that the statement of the attorney general is that it is still illegal at the federal level, and I support that,” he said. His office did not respond to a CBT request for comment.
Todd Young, R-Ind.: Likely Supports
Young hasn’t taken a public stance on the SAFER Banking Act, but, during his time as a U.S. House member in 2014, Young voted in favor of a Democrat-sponsored amendment that would have prohibited the use of specific funds for penalizing a bank or financial institution for providing services to cannabis business. Also, Young was recently filmed on The Dales Report having a brief conversation with cannabis lobbyist Don Murphy and cannabis advocate Jim McMahon, a former NFL star, saying, “I’m on the SAFE Banking legislation.” After Young’s comment, Murphy followed up to say, “For a guy from a state that really doesn’t have [cannabis legalization], he’s about as good as you could be.”
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