WASHINGTON — Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has listed cannabis banking and bank executive clawback bills as bipartisan issues that the Senate could pass in the upcoming weeks and months.
In a Dear Colleague letter outlining the Senate work period after lawmakers return to Washington later this month, Schumer flagged several Senate Banking Committee issues, including FEND Off Fentanyl, SAFER Banking and RECOUP.
The fentanyl legislation, which grants the Treasury Department more powers to combat the flow of illicit opioids into the United States, previously moved out of the Senate Banking Committee alongside the RECOUP Act, which makes it easier for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to claw back the compensation of failed bank executives.
The two measures are likely to move forward together as they did in the Senate Banking Committee hearing, as strengthening executive clawback legislation has been a major priority for some Senate Banking Democrats, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., while stronger fentanyl laws would be a substantial political win for many Democrats and Republicans alike in many red states ahead of the 2024 elections.
"In the weeks and months ahead, we have the opportunity to make progress on bipartisan bills that enhance our national security, advance online safety for kids and promote innovation, expand the Child Tax Credit, work on a path forward on Tik Tok legislation, combat the fentanyl crisis, hold failed bank executives accountable, address rail safety, ensure interest affordability, safeguard cannabis banking, outcompete the Chinese government, lower the cost of prescription drugs like insulin while expanding access to health care, and more," Schumer said in the letter. "There are many important bipartisan issues this congress could address this year, and I hope our Senate Republican colleagues don't allow the ultra-right wing of their party to derail progress on these bipartisan bills."
While Schumer's mention of this legislation signals that these issues are still being considered seriously, it's likely that any real action on those bills will fall closer to the "months" timeline rather than weeks. Lawmakers are returning from their Spring recess, but the April work period lasts only a few weeks, and there's no pending must-pass legislation to keep lawmakers in Washington.
The Senate Banking Committee sent its executive compensation clawback bill, formed in the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank failure,
The latest iteration of the cannabis banking bill passed through the Senate Banking Committee in September, advancing to the full Senate in a 14-9 vote.
The markup and the deal between parties was made possible after a breakthrough among some Senate Republicans, who want to codify protections for certain businesses, such as gun sellers, that Republicans say are politically disfavored in Democratic administrations. Some of the Republican lawmakers who support the SAFER Banking Act come from states where recreational marijuana isn't legal.
The bill's fate in the current House is still uncertain. While House lawmakers have previously coalesced around SAFE Banking and its many iterations, the legislation's major champion, former Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., has retired, and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has
