Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee voted down a measure designed to protect banking institutions that are willing to work with cannabis businesses, according to a Forbes report by Tom Angell.
The measure would have stopped the Treasury Department from penalizing a financial institution solely for doing business with a company in the cannabis industry, giving banks assurances from the federal government that they wouldn’t be closed down. It was defeated in a voice vote during the session.
Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) was the primary sponsor of the amendment. Joyce said the issue at hand for the amendment is not about cannabis, but rather public safety and financial transparency. Several other Republican supporters of the bill were absent for debate, weakening Joyce’s ability to have a formal roll call tally for the amendment.
Following the measure’s defeat, Joyce attempted to write a version of the amendment focused on medical cannabis instead but, after insufficient support and several calls for removal, Joyce withdrew the second attempt at an amendment.