The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act was first introduced to Congress in May of 2017 under the sponsorship of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO).1 It has been reintroduced several times, the latest in 2021 with sponsorship by Perlmutter in the House and Merkley and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) in the Senate. The 2021 version of the bill passed the House on April 19; it is not the first version to do so. It will still need to pass the Senate and then be signed by President Joseph Biden in order to become law.
