On the recordSeptember 25, 2019
I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry) for yielding, and it is on behalf of those cannabis patients in Fort Walton Beach and across the Sunshine State that I rise in support of the SAFE Banking Act. I am proud to have been a part of drafting Florida's medical marijuana laws, and it is ludicrous that the Congress of the United States would stand between people operating under the color of State law and their ability to access the financial system. It is good for no one to have billions of dollars rolling around outside of the accountabilities, efficiencies, and safeguards that the American financial system provides. A vast majority of States have legalized some form of cannabis, and if a business is legal in that State, it should have the same financial protections as any other business. I am a proud original cosponsor of the SAFE Banking Act, and I thank my colleagues for their tireless work on this issue. I know the bill is not perfect. I expect the bill to get better in the Senate, but hopefully, this will build some commonsense momentum for real cannabis reform. Let's get this drug off the schedule I list and do right for the great people in the country.
