Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed Wednesday that lawmakers will "hit the ground running" in 2024, prioritizing bipartisan progress on key issues like marijuana banking reform though he acknowledged it won't be easy.
Wrapping up the chamber's 2023 legislative year, Schumer delivered a floor speech touting accomplishments while emphasizing unfinished business. He praised "large progress in a bipartisan way" on new initiatives, stressing that similar cooperation will be "essential in a divided government" to tackle priorities like the stalled Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, which was cleared by the Senate Banking Committee in September 2023.
In addition to SAFE Banking and cannabis reform, Schumer's list of other 2024 targets includes economic competition with China, railway safety and online youth privacy.
"In each of these, we have laid some groundwork with bipartisan support," Schumer said, according to Marijuana Moment. "It won't be easy, but we want to get these things done in 2024."
Schumer underscored the crucial role of bipartisan cooperation in a Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican- led House, which contributed to SAFE Banking's delay. Schumer backed earlier iterations that passed the full House seven times, but the revised version has not made it to the floor.
Disagreements lingered over specific provisions, particularly a Republican-favored section on broader banking regulations. Time constraints also pressured lawmakers to prioritize other 2023 work.
New House Speaker Isn't Helping Situation
Adding to the complexity, House leadership upheaval in the fall further clouded the bill's prospects. The departure of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and the arrival of anti-marijuana Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) injected uncertainty.
Parting Words
Meanwhile, Schumer slammed the GOP House on Wednesday as "the most unproductive and dysfunctional in modern history" for refusing to “embrace bipartisanship.” The dysfunction, he said, “can be boiled down to three words: chaos, extremism, paralysis.”
Read more at Marijuana Moment
Photo: Benzinga edit with Wiki photo
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