Sen. Menendez Pushes for Senate Passage of SAFE Banking Act

Targeted News Service (Press Releases)

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, Sept. 9 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Sept. 8, 2022:

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, today pushed for the Senate passage of the SAFE Banking Act and highlighted the need to strengthen the National Flood Insurance Program in light of recent confirmation of the staggering drop in flood insurance coverage as a result of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Risk Rating 2.0 system. The Senate Banking hearing, entitled "Current Issues in Insurance," had witnesses from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the Federal Insurance Office at the U.S. Treasury Department.

"I'm concerned that businesses that have nothing to do with cannabis could face serious consequences if this bill isn't enacted. Imagine a scenario where a New Jersey lightbulb manufacturer sells a product to a state-legalized cannabis business and there's a fire related to the lightbulb, causing the business to suffer losses," said Sen. Menendez in questioning Kathleen A. Birrane from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. "The SAFE Banking Act and CLAIM Act would resolve the issue I described, as well as many others. The House has passed this bipartisan measure seven times, and it's long past time for the Senate to do the same."

Sen. Menendez is the author of the Clarifying Law Around Insurance of Marijuana (CLAIM) Act, to provide a safe harbor for insurers to do businesses with state-legalized cannabis retailers. This bipartisan legislation was included as a provision in the SAFE Banking Act.

Additionally, Sen. Menendez highlighted the need to advance his bipartisan, bicameral National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and Reform (NIFP-RE) Act in the light of FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0 shock to flood insurance coverage.

"Last month FEMA reported that over 425,000 policyholders dropped out of the National Flood Insurance Program since Risk Rating 2.0 took effect last year. That's nearly 10% of the program. The agency predicted it would take years for 425,000 policyholders to drop coverage, but instead it took eight short months," said Sen. Menendez. "A majority of homeowners across the country are already uninsured against flooding, and it's clear Risk Rating 2.0 is only making this situation worse. This program needs to have affordable rates to get families covered and robust investments in mitigation and mapping so that we can finally address the long-term challenges of flooding. I hope we can work together to advance my bipartisan NFIP-RE Act before this problem grows even worse."

Sen. Menendez has been the leading advocate in Congress for an overhaul of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), since Superstorm Sandy devastated New Jersey nearly almost 10 years ago. The NIFP-RE Act would extend the program for five years, while implementing a series of sweeping reforms to address the waste, abuse and mismanagement plaguing the system.