Steve Stivers

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1448, the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act. As a Major General in the Ohio National Guard and a Congressman who represents 43,000 veterans in my district, I know the struggle of the invisible wounds of war.

I have met with a Vietnam veteran who was unable to leave his house for decades, a soldier who was deployed to Iraq who, when he returned, was addicted to heroin for 7 years, and another who was under my command in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His only goal was to take his fiancee out to dinner.

Unfortunately, these three stories are not unique, but these three have happy endings. By working with service dogs, these veterans got their lives back. Under the status quo, veterans aren't able to access this lifesaving treatment that these three veterans have gotten. We have a chance today to change that by passing this bill.

The PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act would establish a pilot program. This is not even a permanent program; it is a pilot program at the VA to provide grants to local service dog training organizations so the veterans can benefit

from work-therapy by learning the art and science of training a dog for service. After graduation, the veteran can adopt their canine partner if the veteran and/or his VA health provider agree that that veteran will benefit from continuing courses of treatment from that therapy dog.

I have seen the peer-reviewed information from Kaiser-Permanente and Purdue University that shows that these programs work. They reduce the amount of psychotropic drugs that these veterans are on. They reduce suicide. They improve overall mental health.

Today, we lose 22 veteran and Active Duty members a day to suicide. We can't let that go on. This can help that effort. It is a small price to pay. We can't afford to wait any longer.

I am, today, calling for us to pass this bill today, take it to the Senate, get it hotlined and signed and on the President's desk by Memorial Day.

I do want to thank the bipartisan folks who have helped on this: Chairman Takano; Ranking Member Bost; Representative Rice, our lead cosponsor; now-Governor Tim Walz, who was the sponsor in the last Congress; the floor leader Steny Hoyer; now-Governor DeSantis; Sheriff Rutherford; Dr. Dunn; Representative Slotkin; and Representative Sherrill. They have all played a very important role.

I want to thank the staff on Mr. Bost's team, Samantha Gonzalez, Christine Hill, Maria Tripplaar; on Mr. Takano's staff, Matt Reel and Heather O'Beirne Kelly. Lastly, I want to thank my legislative director, Mimi Bair, for all her hard work, and my chief of staff, Nick, for his hard work on this as well.

I know this is asking for a parting gift, but I would ask you all vote ``yea'' on this bill. I look forward to seeing this signed soon. I want to thank my colleagues for their bipartisan effort on this and earnest work to help our veterans.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the following letters of endorsement for H.R. 1996, the SAFE Banking Act of 2021.

Due Process Institute.

Washington, DC.

Support H.R. 1996--SAFE Banking Act

Due Process Institute supports the SAFE Banking Act, H.R.

1996, and urges you to vote in support of this bipartisan

bill when it comes to the House floor this evening.

Nearly every state has legalized a form of marijuana,

including medical marijuana or cannabidiol (CBD). Seventeen

states and the District of Columbia have either

decriminalized marijuana or legalized recreational use for

adults. The cannabis industry is growing. The American

cannabis industry saw $17.5 billion in sales in 2020, a 46

percent increase over the previous year. The industry, which

already supports 250,000 jobs, is expected to continue to

grow, particularly as more states legalize marijuana.

Although nearly every state has taken some step to

liberalize marijuana laws, Congress has not yet taken action

to support their self-governance, which creates a problem for

businesses operating legally under state law. Because of the

federal treatment of marijuana, the owners or employees of

legitimate cannabis-related state businesses are forced to

make cash-only sales rather than doing business with

federally regulated banks. Additionally, proceeds from any

legitimate state cannabis-related business can currently be

considered unlawful ``proceeds'' from a crime and subject to

federal anti-money laundering and forfeiture laws.

The SAFE Banking Act provides safe harbor and other

protections for financial institutions--banks and credit

unions--that transact with legitimate cannabis-related and

hemp-related businesses. (Hemp was federally legalized in

2018.) The bill also protects ancillary business entities

that transact with legitimate cannabis-related legitimate

businesses and creates a regulatory framework.

The legislative history of the SAFE Banking Act shows broad

bipartisan support. In the 116th Congress, the SAFE Banking

Act passed with 229 Democrats and 91 Republicans voting for

the bill. The SAFE Banking Act the House will vote on this

evening has 168 co-sponsors, boasting diverse support from

across the ideological spectrum.

Due Process Institute encourages Members to vote YES on the

SAFE Banking Act, H.R.1996.

Due Process Institute is a bipartisan nonprofit that works

to honor, preserve, and restore principles of fairness in the

criminal legal system.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Perlmutter for his hard work on this. I am an unlikely person to support this bill because I am opposed to recreational marijuana, but I came to this because a company that is just outside my district that sells nutrients now finds themselves in the situation where 25 percent of their profits come from selling to legal marijuana businesses, and they are being threatened, a Fortune 500 company, with losing their bank accounts.

We can't let that happen. We have got to make sure that we stand up for safety and stand up for common sense. That is what this bill does.

Three points about this bill. Number one, it encourages safety because money that is in a bank account can be frozen and can be tracked.

By the way, this bill also increases suspicious activity reports, so this idea about money laundering doesn't work because there are suspicious activity reports that are expanded under the bill, and you can freeze and track the money, which is really important. That is why a lot of folks in law enforcement like this bill.

The final thing is, this bill includes provisions to stop Operation Choke Point that Republicans couldn't even get passed when we had the presidency, the Senate, and the House, and we got that negotiated into this bill. It helps in a big way to make sure that there's not an Operation Choke Point in the future, so nobody can choke off legal businesses from their bank accounts and from access to the payments system. That is a big deal. I want to thank Congressman Perlmutter for allowing that.

Finally, before my time is up, I want to acknowledge Congressman Warren Davidson, who isn't going to be able to fly in in time for this. Congressman Davidson has been working on this bill with me for almost 2 years with Congressman Perlmutter. Warren Davidson has done an amazing job. I just want to acknowledge his hard work, all his efforts. We wouldn't be here today but for Congressman Warren Davidson.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1996.