RE:RE:Anyone share his feelings?!
Thanks for posting WestCoast78. Top Federal Financial Regulator Slams Congress Over Marijuana Inaction And Calls For Interagency Banking Workgroup Published 2 hours agoon September 9, 2021 By Kyle Jaeger A board member and former chairman of the federal National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is sharply criticizing Congress for failing to reform marijuana laws, and he announced on Thursday that he will be taking steps to push lawmakers to enact policy changes to help financial institutions and stakeholders caught in the federal-state cannabis conundrum. NCUAs Rodney Hood said at the PBC Conference that hes concerned that the legal and regulatory infrastructure surrounding the cannabis industry is not evolving quickly enough, and congressional inaction is largely to blame. He also said that he feels legalization at the federal level is an inevitability. To help fill the policy gap, the regulator is calling for the creation of an interagency working group of federal financial regulatory agencies to develop a principles-based approach to cannabis banking and deliver a preliminary regulatory framework that we can share with other regulators and members of Congress who share our concern about addressing these problems. Let me be clear about where I stand, he said, according to his remarks as prepared for delivery that were obtained by Marijuana Moment. It is time for federal action to clarify and harmonize the laws and regulations surrounding the state-legal cannabis industry and marijuana-related businesses, so that this industry can take part in the legitimate financial services industry. Hood is a longtime regulator at NCUA, an independent federal agency that provides deposit insurance to credit unions. He served from 2005 to 2009 under the Bush administration, was named chairman by President Donald Trump in 2019 and served for two years before transitioning to a board position. That long-term service under multiple administrations makes Hoods comments on marijuana policy all the more noteworthy. Rarely do regulators openly take such forceful policy positions, especially those that arent necessarily shared by the administrations with which they work. Hood didnt endorse any particular pieces of legislation, though his remarks do specifically mention the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, and he said Congress needs to effectively harmonize federal and state cannabis laws so that the industry is no longer kneecapped and financial institutions dont have to fear being penalized for servicing marijuana businesses. He also spoke more broadly about the prospect of federal legalization and characterized it as an inevitability. Ive heard a variety of perspectives, but theres one common refrain: they all agree that legalization is a matter of when, not ifand they urge federal action to get it done, hetold attendees at theconferenceon cannabis banking, payments and compliance. Legalization in some form is going to happen, and the abdication of responsibility to address these issues in Washington is simply ludicrous. This is precisely the time we need leadership at the federal level to steer this ship in the right direction. Its simply a remarkable social and cultural change that has taken place right before our eyes, Hood said, referring to the growing number of states changing their laws, and its only going to continue to develop over the coming years. Yet while this revolution has unfolded, federal law surrounding marijuana and cannabis-derived products has barely changed. There have been some welcome changes at the federal level, like delisting hemp from the list of controlled substances in the 2018 Farm Bill, but even those changes have been slow to arrive and relatively marginal. And theres been no meaningful legal change on the federal level when it comes to marijuana, despite all the rhetoric around marijuana legalization federally. One key consequence of the federal cannabis stalemate is that this explosive industry is currently left without traditional financial tools or access to the banking system, Hood said, pointing out that federal data indicates fewer than 200 credit unionsreport servicing state-legal marijuana businessesdespite NCUA representing more than 5,000 financial institutions. He said that disconnect can only be described as a serious market failure. And Hood intends to do what he can both internally at NCUA and on an interagency level to promote solutions. NCUA has its own cannabis banking workgroup, the regulator said, and he will be working with them to determine what we might do next to better address the challenges to cannabis banking on our side. But a broader effort that brings in multiple federal financial agencies is necessary, he argued. And helpfully, theres an existing infrastructure for that coordination through the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Hoods wants the agencies that are part of the council to take the lead on this issue and to start developing a principles-based approach to cannabis banking. Further, the official said he will be personally lobbying Congress in his capacity as an NCUA board member to enact reform, while also pushing credit union trade associations to similarly pressure lawmakers to take up the issue. The problem is not with the financial institutions themselves; many of them would be happy to provide services to the industry, but theyre unsure of how to proceed given the limited FinCEN guidance, Hoodsaid, referring to an Obama-era memo that laid out how banks can serve cannabis businesses. We have this promising industry thats developing and growing rapidlyyet no way for the people who work in this industry to conduct the most fundamental business operations through legitimate financial channels. That is, frankly, an untenable situation. Heres a basic reality: as a rule, regulators really dont like to get out too far ahead of the policy process. We always seek to respect the existing statutes, and to defer to Congress as the policy-making arm of the government. However, there are times when an independent regulator in the executive branch needs to step forward to provide leadership, or at least nudge things along. I believe thats the case today with marijuana and the financial services industry. Advocates are largely pushing for legislation that would comprehensively reform federal marijuana laws, but there are some who feel Congress shouldfirst advance bipartisan cannabis banking legislationbecause it stands a stronger chances of passage and could help resolve critical public safety issue. Hood said the SAFE Banking Act is an example of a proposal that hes heard could improve the situation for financial institutions and clients. That legislation has passed the House on multiple occasions,most recently in April, but its so far languished in the Senate asleading lawmakers prioritize broader reform. Hood also mentioned that, last year,NCUA separately issued a memoexplaining issues related to providing financial services to hemp businesses after the crop was federally legalized. Other panelists who are set to participate in thePBC Conferenceinclude Congressional Cannabis Caucus Co-chair Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and several current and former Internal Revenue Service officials