While the House of Representatives plows ahead with a landmark vote to provide regulatory relief to financial services companies working with cannabis-related businesses, the future of the measure lies in the hands of a Senate committee chairman contemplating his next move.
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, told reporters that he is still unsure whether he will take up a bill that has garnered support from one-third of the Senate or craft his own.
The bills prohibit regulators from over-scrutinizing transactions that financial services companies make with cannabis-related businesses. While the measures do not alter cannabis' designation as a narcotic, they ease regulations that have largely prevented companies, especially banks, from offering basic services, like deposits and loans, to the industry.
Crapo told reporters that he hopes to pass a bill using the current measures as a "baseline bill" but that he isn't "limiting" himself to it, a signal that the chairman may expand its provisions.
"At this point, I have not made a determination as to what specific changes, if any, would be necessary," Crapo said. "It's a work in progress."
Crapo has changed his tune on the issue over the last seven months. Idaho is one of only a handful of states that have not legalized marijuana for any use. Thus, the senator has not received pressure from his constituents to consider marijuana-related issues.
In May, Crapo told a group of community bankers that he thought the Department of Justice should de-designate cannabis before Congress moves on any legislation to provide relief.
In July, Crapo held a hearing in which he acknowledged that something should be done so that the largely all-cash cannabis businesses become safer.
But the chairman has since been noncommittal on the issue, which has left other senators guessing at what Crapo may do.
However, the senator's non-commitment should not be seen as a "stalling or stonewalling" tactic, said Aaron Stetter, executive vice president of policy and political operations at the Independent Community Bankers of America.
"I think Chairman Crapo realizes that this is a huge issue and that it needs to be remedied," Stetter said in an interview. "He's very deliberative in the way that he moves legislation."
But Stetter said the stakes for community banks are high, and if Congress cannot send a measure to the president's desk, the status quo will "reign supreme."
At issue, Stetter said, is Washington's most precious commodity: Senate floor time. Under regular order by the chamber's rules, a bill typically must get 30 hours of debate time and clear a 60-vote threshold to pass.
Furthermore, legislation becomes more political during a presidential election cycle, adding another element of uncertainty to the measure in the upper chamber. Crapo told reporters that he hopes to get a bill passed in the Senate "by the end of the year" to avoid the partisan pitfalls that often plague bills in presidential election years.
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo. and co-author of the Senate bill, told reporters that he has not had any conversations with Crapo and does not know what may be in a Crapo-crafted bill. He said he also doesn't know how that bill would differ from his own.
On Sept. 18, Gardner's bill received its 33rd co-sponsor, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Senate minority whip.
Even with the shrinking window to of time to get the bill done, the banking industry is encouraged by the bipartisanship in the House and Senate.
"Senator Crapo's recent decision to take up a cannabis banking bill is a significant step forward in the Senate," wrote an American Bankers Association spokesperson in an email. "It's clear momentum is growing for Congress to resolve the current legal conflict when it comes to banking cannabis."
Meanwhile, the House is fast approaching a vote on its own bill the week of Sept. 23, and based on preliminary whip counts from bill co-author Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash., the vote will be overwhelmingly bipartisan.
"We have strong bipartisan support for this," Heck said in an interview. "We got a positive signal from Senator Crapo that he understands what needs to be addressed."
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., who has been introducing the same bill for the last three congressional sessions, said there has been little outreach to senators because getting to this point has been a massive lift by itself.
Perlmutter said in an interview that, right now, he is focused on getting an overwhelming victory in the House to show senators his bill, which mirrors Gardner's, could be a home run in the Senate.
"If there are some differences [between our bills], we'll figure them out," Perlmutter said. "But at this point, I've got to take care of this side of the Congress and do my best to get enough votes to send it that way. And I think we're in pretty good shape."
After the bill clears the House, all eyes will turn to Crapo, who the industry believes is moving steadily toward action.
"He's taking in all the facts, weighing them appropriately, and eventually, he will act accordingly and he'll pass a good bill out of the Senate," ICBA's Stetter said. "If anyone can get this done, it's Chairman Crapo."
