The SAFE Banking Act, which only weeks ago seemed defeated when it was stripped out of a military spending bill, has been revived as an amendment to a domestic spending bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
According to a Friday news release from U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s office, the bill has been attached to the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology) Act of 2022.
The COMPETES Act is designed to bolster semiconductor production in the U.S. with $52 billion in domestic aid.
It is expected to pass the House by March 1, according to CNBC.
“The SAFE Banking Act is the best opportunity to enact some type of federal cannabis reform this year and will serve as the first of many steps to help ensure cannabis businesses are treated the same as any other legal, legitimate business,” Perlmutter said in the release.
SAFE’s chances are still unclear, however, considering that the America COMPETES Act is a House response to a larger Senate-approved spending bill, CNBC reported.
That means the two versions of the enormous spending bills must now be reconciled by both chambers through a conference committee.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a news release this week that he hopes to “quickly negotiate a final bill for the president to sign into law,” CNBC reported.
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But that same process is how the SAFE Banking Act was previously removed from the military bill it had been attached to.
And that means SAFE’s ultimate chances of passage are up in the air because it could be stripped out again.
Perlmutter, who has said he’s not running for reelection in November, promised in the release that he “will continue to pursue every possible avenue to get SAFE Banking over the finish line and signed into law.”
