H.R. 1996 · 117th Congress

SAFE Banking Act of 2021

Introduced on Mar 18, 2021 by Ed Perlmutter (D-CO-7). 180 cosponsors, 26 of them from another party. Latest action (Apr 20, 2021): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Mar 18, 2021
Cosponsors
180
26 from the other party
Policy area
Finance and Financial Sector
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To create protections for financial institutions that provide financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers for such businesses, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Administrative law and regulatory procedures
  • Asia
  • Bank accounts, deposits, capital
  • Banking and financial institutions regulation
  • Business records
  • Congressional oversight
  • Consumer affairs
  • Credit and credit markets
  • Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
  • Department of the Treasury
  • Drug trafficking and controlled substances
  • Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
  • Evidence and witnesses
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
  • Federal Reserve System
  • Financial services and investments
  • Fraud offenses and financial crimes
  • Government information and archives
  • Government liability
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Insurance industry and regulation
  • Iran
  • Judicial procedure and administration
  • Licensing and registrations
  • Middle East
  • Minority and disadvantaged businesses
  • National Credit Union Administration
  • North Korea
  • Organized crime
  • Syria
  • Terrorism
  • Women in business

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Apr 19, 2021). Public domain.

Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2021 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2021

This bill generally prohibits a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate cannabis-related business. Prohibited penalties include terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a legitimate cannabis-related business and prohibiting or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering financial services to such a business.

Additionally, proceeds from a transaction involving activities of a legitimate cannabis-related business are not considered proceeds from unlawful activity. Proceeds from unlawful activity are subject to anti-money laundering laws.

Furthermore, a depository institution is not, under federal law, liable or subject to asset forfeiture for providing a loan or other financial services to a legitimate cannabis-related business.

The bill also provides that a federal banking agency may not request or order a depository institution to terminate a customer account unless (1) the agency has a valid reason for doing so, and (2) that reason is not based solely on reputation risk. Valid reasons for terminating an account include threats to national security and involvement in terrorist financing, including state sponsorship of terrorism.

Finally, the bill decreases the cap on the surplus funds of the Federal Reserve banks. (Amounts exceeding this cap are deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.)

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Ed PerlmutterD-CO-7Sponsor

Democrats · 154

Republicans · 26

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
    Apr 19, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 321–101

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Mar 18, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  4. Mar 18, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  5. Apr 19, 2021 · HouseMr. Perlmutter moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  6. Apr 19, 2021 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1915-1924)
  7. Apr 19, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1996.
  8. Apr 19, 2021 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  9. Apr 19, 2021 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H1942-1943)
  10. Apr 19, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 321 - 101 (Roll no. 120).(text: CR H1915-1918)House · Roll call 120
  11. Apr 19, 2021 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 321 - 101 (Roll no. 120). (text: CR H1915-1918)House · Roll call 120
  12. Apr 19, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  13. Apr 20, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. National Taxpayers Union10 reports
    $300K reported (all issues)
  2. New York Bankers Association5 reports
    $250K reported (all issues)
  3. American Property & Casualty Insurance Association1 report
    $20K reported (all issues)
  4. INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE1 report
    $150K reported (all issues)
  5. THE SCOTTS MIRACLE-GRO COMPANY1 report
    $60K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.