Freshman representative Ocasio-Cortez shows cannabis industry not immune to the ills of corporate lobbying

On Wednesday, Democratic rising-star and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took the occasion of the House Financial Services subcommittee hearing on issues of cannabis banking to bring to light a well-known but little-discussed congressional practice.

Lobbyists, looking for guaranteed seats in a hearing will often pay homeless people to hold their spot in line. Speaking truth-to-power, she noted that not only is it a shameful act that takes advantage of those less fortunate, but it disenfranchises the voices of everyday American people in favor of rich and powerful corporate lobbyists.

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According to Ocasio-Cortez, those lobbying in favor of the cannabis industry are not immune to such practices.

Shock doesn’t begin to cover it.

Today I left a hearing on homelessness & saw tons of people camped outside committee.

I turned to my staff and asked if it was a demonstration.

“No,” they said. “Lobbyists pay the homeless + others to hold their place so they can get in 1st.” pic.twitter.com/mXbgqkKp4P

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 13, 2019

“Today I left a hearing on homelessness & saw tons of people camped outside committee,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted out on Wednesday. “I turned to my staff and asked if it was a demonstration.”

She continued her tweet, noting that her staff had informed her of the commonplace practice.

“This was the hearing for marijuana banking laws,” she added in a follow-up tweet. “Lobbyists and those who can afford it pay people to hold their spot, so they get in 1st.”

Apparently this is a normal practice, and people don’t bat an eye.

The first few people in line are guaranteed a seat in a given hearing.

This was the hearing for marijuana banking laws. Lobbyists and those who can afford it pay people to hold their spot so they get in 1st.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 13, 2019

Lobbyists such as the Independent Community Bankers of America have long pushed Congress to loosen financial restrictions on cannabis-related businesses.

“ICBA does not advocate for legalization of cannabis at the federal level or otherwise, but we do support the creation of an effective, safe harbor from federal sanctions for banks that choose to serve CRBs in states where these businesses are legal under state law,” the group wrote in a letter to Rep. Ed Perlmutter early last year.

On Wednesday, lobbying groups like the ICBA had a chance to present their case to a House Financial Services subcommittee, with many believing that the new Democratic Congress will be more sympathetic to the cause.

“The conditions are as good as they’ve ever been for legislation to proceed,” Ryan Donovan, chief advocacy officer for the Credit Union National Association, told MarketWatch. “75% may be a little high, but [the odds] are better than they were in the last Congress.”

Still, while many in the industry may approve of the cause, they disagree with the tactics.

NORML’s Political Director Justin Strekal responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet, calling for the abolition of all lobbyists — a title that he, himself currently holds.

As a lobbyist for a non-profit organization, I would love to see the profession for industry obliterated.

I’m happy to lose my job as an unintended consequence.

I’m not in this photo because I was in the back of the line... https://t.co/dTSnh27lil

— Justin Strekal (@justinstrekal) February 13, 2019

“As a lobbyist for a non-profit organization, I would love to see the profession for industry obliterated,” Strekal tweeted. “I’m happy to lose my job as an unintended consequence.”

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As for where Strekal was waiting when trying to attend Wednesday’s hearing, he noted that he held his own spot in line.

“I’m not in this photo because I was in the back of the line,” he tweeted.

Header Image: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez took a picture of homeless men and women paid by corporate lobbyists to wait in line before the House Financial Services subcommittee