Wyden, Merkley focus: Pot-business banking, climate change

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., issued a flurry of news releases Thursday on a variety of legislative issues, from helping marijuana-related businesses be able to do banking to equal treatment in the tax code for same-sex marriages.

Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a bipartisan group of senators to introduce the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015, legislation to ensure that legal marijuana businesses can access banking services.

Currently, marijuana businesses operating under Oregon’s laws for legal medicinal and recreational marijuana have been mostly denied access to the banking system because banks that provide them services can be prosecuted under federal law.

Without the ability to access bank accounts, accept credit cards, or write checks, businesses must operate using large amounts of cash. This creates safety risks for businesses and surrounding communities, and makes it more difficult for local and state governments to collect taxes.

“Forcing businessmen and businesswomen who are operating legally under Oregon state law to shuttle around gym bags full of cash is an invitation to crime and malfeasance. That must end,” said Merkley. “The people of Oregon have spoken, and the federal government should make sure that legal marijuana businesses can operate properly within our banking system. It’s time to let banks serve these legal businesses without fearing devastating reprisals from the federal government.”

“By compelling Oregon business owners to operate on a cash-only basis, current federal laws are making marijuana businesses sitting ducks for violent crimes and perpetuating negative stereotypes. It is ridiculous to make any business owner carry duffle bags of cash just to pay their taxes.” Wyden said.

“Our bill will finally force the federal government to respect the decision Oregonians made at the polls and allow law-abiding marijuana businesses to go to the bank just like any other business.”

The bill would prevent federal banking regulators from:

Prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated marijuana business;
Terminating or limiting a bank’s federal deposit insurance solely because the bank is providing services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business;
Recommending or incentivizing a bank to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses; or
Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a marijuana-related business.

The bill also creates a safe harbor from criminal prosecution and liability and asset forfeiture for banks and their officers and employees who provide financial services to legitimate, state-sanctioned marijuana businesses, while maintaining banks’ right to choose not to offer those services. The legislation was also cosponsored by Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

The bill would require banks to comply with current Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) guidance, while at the same time allowing FinCEN guidance to be streamlined over time as states and the federal government adapt to legalized medicinal and recreational marijuana policies.

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Wyden, along with the full Senate Democratic Caucus , unveiled legislation Thursday providing equal dignity for all legal marriages in the tax code.

The bill, the “Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act,” sets new precedent by removing gender-specific references to marriage, enshrining dignity and recognition for LGBTQ Americans in the tax code.

“It’s about time that we update our tax law to reflect the institution of legal marriage,” said Wyden. “All married Americans deserve the same respect and dignity in the eyes of the law.”

This bill follows the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 26 that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection, striking down state-level bans on such marriages.

The bill ensures that the nation’s tax law properly reflects the landmark civil rights decision, offering equal treatment to all married taxpayers.

Co-sponsors of the bill:

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

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Wyden on Thursday applauded the inclusion of his provision to help boost high school graduation rates in Oregon and across the country in a bill to reauthorize federal education funding that is currently being considered in the U.S. Senate.

The Wyden-authored provision would make more low-income and low-performing middle and high schools eligible for federal funding that can be used to help schools enhance student achievement. The provision expands eligibility for federal School Improvement Grants to middle and high schools where 40 percent or more of the student population comes from low-income households.

“The most successful schools in Oregon have staff who locate at-risk students, intervene early, and work with them to help them get their diplomas. Congress has the opportunity to replace the failed policies of No Child Left Behind with a bill that gives the next generation a better chance to succeed,” Wyden said.

“The federal government must do more to help high school students get their diplomas and boost graduation rates. That means identifying at-risk students, and encouraging educators to provide them with the support they need to finish high school. I’m going to be working to strengthen this bill by adding measures to help low-income students graduate from high school and get on track to greater opportunities later in life.”

School Improvement Grants can be used by high schools to improve graduation rates with efforts such as intensive drop-out prevention and re-entry programs and extended learning time programs. However, the majority of high schools, including more than 100 high-poverty high schools in Oregon, are ineligible for the kinds of federal support that can help schools improve. Nationally, there are more than 2,000 such schools.

Last year, Oregon received more than $5 million in school improvement grants to help schools raise graduation rates and boost their overall performance.

Higher graduation rates have been linked to lower unemployment and better earnings, the senator said.

Oregon’s 2015 Teacher of the Year, Michael Lindblad, expressed support for Wyden’s efforts to raise graduation rates in the education bill.

“I’m thrilled that Sen. Wyden is working to give more schools that serve students in poverty access to the types of federal dollars that can bring graduation rates up and close the education gap,” said Lindblad, who was also recently awarded a National Education Association Global Fellowship. “My school and schools across Oregon can use this federal funding to keep kids in the classroom through efforts like mentorship programs, helping them earn their diplomas and open the door to greater success in life.”

The broader bill, the Every Child Achieves Act, reforms the previous K-12 education law, No Child Left Behind, to give states more flexibility in setting standards for schools and monitor how federal dollars are allocated to school districts. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week.

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The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee threw bipartisan support Thursday behind an amendment sponsored by Merkley to help tackle climate change.

The amendment enables the U.S. State Department to invest in the global Green Climate Fund. The amendment passed on a bipartisan 16-14 vote and was adopted into the Senate’s State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill.

The Green Climate Fund is an international fund set up to help nations worldwide – particularly developing nations – adapt to climate change and adopt clean energy sources. This fund is essential to an international framework for nations to work together to take on climate change.

A provision of Thursday’s bill would have prevented the United States from contributing to the Green Climate Fund. Merkley’s amendment struck that provision and makes clear that the Administration has the power to dedicate resources from the United States to combat global climate change through contributions to this fund.

“Climate change is a global problem, and it requires a global solution,” said Merkley. “Changes in our climate are already wreaking havoc on Oregon’s farming, fishing and forests, and we must work urgently to limit the damage by cutting carbon pollution. America cannot tackle climate change on its own, because it requires reductions in greenhouse gases by nations across the planet. That it is why contributing to the Green Climate Fund is essential to an international agreement in Paris later this year.”