{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-gardner-clark-and-gonzlez-coln-announce-bipartisan-and-bicameral-bill-to-protect-veterans-working-in-the-state-legal-cannabis-industry", "Warren, Gardner, Clark, and Gonz\u00e1lez-Col\u00f3n Announce Bipartisan and Bicameral Bill to Protect Veterans Working in the State-Legal Cannabis Industry", "2019-12-18", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 18, 2019\n\t\t\t Warren, Gardner, Clark, and Gonzlez-Coln Announce Bipartisan and Bicameral Bill to Protect Veterans Working in the State-Legal Cannabis Industry \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Legislation would prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs from denying veterans VA-backed home loans due to income earned from lawful cannabis business\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, D.C. - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren\r\n(D-Mass.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair\r\nKatherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Representative Gonzlez-Coln (R-P.R.) announced\r\nthe introduction of bipartisan and bicameral legislation that would prohibit\r\nthe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from denying veterans VA-backed\r\nhome loans based on their employment in their state's legal cannabis industry.\r\nCurrently, cannabis is considered illegal under federal law, though 48\r\nstates -- including Massachusetts -- currently have laws permitting or\r\ndecriminalizing marijuana or marijuana-based products. Washington D.C., Puerto\r\nRico, Guam, and a number of tribal nations have similar laws. As a result of\r\nfederal law, the VA can deny home loans to veterans whose verified income is\r\nearned from working in their state's legal cannabis industry.Eligible veterans are able to receive a home loan partially guaranteed by\r\nthe VA. In states across the country, veterans are among the individuals\r\nworking in the state's legal cannabis industry. In addition to ensuring that\r\nthis work will not affect VA home loan guaranty program eligibility, the bill\r\nwould clarify that the VA's activities related to guaranteeing such a loan\r\nwould not be a violation of federal controlled substances laws, nor would mere\r\napplication for a VA-backed home loan violate these laws.\"Veterans have sacrificed so much for this country, but our outdated\r\nfederal marijuana laws prevent many veterans from getting the loans they need\r\nto buy homes,\" Senator Warren said. \"Our bipartisan\r\nbill would ensure that veterans who work in their state's legal cannabis\r\nindustry can access VA home loans and realize the dream of homeownership.\"\"The citizens of Colorado led the nation in adopting a new approach to\r\ncannabis, and our state's veterans have fought for our country all over the\r\nworld. It's disgraceful that a veteran can be denied a benefit they earned\r\nserving our country because they have a job in alegitimate cannabis\r\nbusiness,\"said Senator Gardner.\"Unfortunately\r\nthis isn't the only policy failure due to conflicting state and federal\r\nmarijuana laws. This is another example in the long list of reasons to pass the\r\nSTATES Act, which Senator Warren and I introduced to respect the will of the\r\npeople and take the states' rights approach to legal cannabis.\"\"The VA needs to catch up with the times and recognize the growing role\r\nof the cannabis economy in our country,\" Democratic Caucus Vice\r\nChair Clarksaid. \"Our veterans shouldn't be penalized or\r\ndenied the benefits they have earned because they live and work in a state\r\nwhere marijuana is legal. We owe it to them to ensure that they can build their\r\nlives and pursue their dreams after their service, and that includes the dream\r\nof homeownership.\"\"Achieving job security and having a stable home are two of the\r\ntoughest challenges veterans face upon separating from the Armed Services. As\r\nMembers of Congress, it is our duty to craft and modernize policies that can\r\nfacilitate the acquisition of both. Through their service and sacrifices, our\r\nveterans have rightfully earned every benefit offered to them by the federal\r\ngovernment,\" said Representative Gonzlez-Coln.\r\n\"That is why, putting their VA Home Loan at risk for embarking on the\r\ncannabis industry when done lawfully in accordance with local laws, is a\r\nmistake. I am proud to lead this bill, along with my colleagues, to continue\r\nremoving obstacles for the success and wellbeing of veterans and their\r\nfamilies.\"The Drug Policy Alliance lends its support to this proposal.\"In any effort to roll back failed marijuana policy, lawmakers must focus\r\non ending the collateral harms vulnerable people still encounter due to federal\r\nprohibition,\" says Queen Adesuyi, policy manager for Drug Policy\r\nAlliance. \"As we work towards comprehensively ending the failed\r\nwar on marijuana, we're thankful for the leadership of Senators Warren and\r\nGardner as they take important steps to mitigate harms faced by veterans and\r\nnoncitizens working within legal marijuana markets.\"In addition to today's announcement, Senators Warren and Gardner announced\r\nanother bipartisan bill\r\nthat would prohibit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)from\r\nconsidering an individual's employment in the state-legal cannabis industry as\r\na factor in his or her application for naturalization. Both bills were\r\nsimultaneously announced as a package of legislative measures that would help\r\nimprove the lives of individuals who work in the state-legal cannabis industry. ###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-gardner-clark-and-gonzlez-coln-announce-bipartisan-and-bicameral-bill-to-protect-veterans-working-in-the-state-legal-cannabis-industry"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8311551064252853, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}