Effort to open banking system to legal marijuana businesses stalls in US House

Failing in an effort to match the success of their Senate counterparts, House members on Tuesday watched as Republicans killed a budget amendment that would have prevented federal regulators from penalizing financial institutions that worked with legitimate marijuana businesses.

Though a Senate committee last week passed a similar amendment, House Republicans in the Rules Committee blocked any vote on the amendment proposed by Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Arvada, and Rep. Denny Heck of Washington to the Fiscal Year 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act.

The bill makes appropriations to the Treasury, the Office of the President and other agencies.

“Frankly, I’m frustrated by this terrible decision, and the American people should be, too,” Heck said in a statement. “We’ve been pushing for this common-sense change for more than three years now, received bipartisan support … and now all the sudden this issue is labeled a ‘poison pill.’ ”

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