The House Oversight and Accountability Committee today favorably reported the CURE Act to the House floor by a vote of 30-14. The bill would block prior marijuana use from becoming grounds for failing to hire someone into the Federal government.
The Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act is a bipartisan bill – introduced earlier this summer by Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Nancy Mace, R- S.C. – but faced headwinds today as several Republican members of the committee opposed the bill.
The legislation aims to prevent marijuana use from being the main attribute to deny qualified candidates from working in the Federal government. The text of the bill states that it would also cover individuals who are currently using marijuana, or have in the past, and would establish a review process for all people denied employment with the Federal government due to marijuana use dating back to 2008.
The bill comes as a multitude of over 38 states, territories, and localities allow medical marijuana use, while 23 states allow for the recreational use of marijuana.
“Many young and talented applicants are discouraged from applying for national security jobs because they are confused about Federal hiring policy, and I don’t blame them,” Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said during the markup today. “Federal hiring policies are confusing enough and this is one area where we can work in a bipartisan way to clarify and codify what is largely an existing practice.”
“By removing this uncertainty and clarifying the process, we can hope to attract small and talented tech experts to the field of public service,” Rep. Comer added.
Other Republican committee members did not share the same sentiment as their leader, arguing that the use of marijuana causes “psychosis, depression, and violence.” Additionally, because the drug has not been legalized at the Federal level, several Republicans argued the hiring rule should remain the same.
“This bill applies to those who design and maintain our nuclear weapons as it does to some of our most sensitive intelligence operations,” Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said. “The Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility Act prevents the intelligence community and Federal agencies writ large from using historic marijuana use – a Federal section one controlled substance – in determining eligibility for security clearance. While some states have legalized cannabis’ recreational and medical use, it remains illegal at the Federal level.”
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, offered an amendment to the CURE Act during the markup today that would change the bill to allow the government to reject a hire or deny security clearance if the applicant had smoked weed in the last three years. Rep. Sessions amendment was rejected by a vote of 28-15.
Rep. Raskin, an original CURE Act sponsor, said Rep. Sessions amendment was a “guillotine” to his bill.
Rep. Mace agreed, concluding the debate saying, “Any notion that we’re not taking national security [seriously] because of someone’s previous cannabis use is not accurate at all.”
“This argument against cannabis is tired, it’s old and quite frankly, it’s outdated. And the states are far ahead of us on this issue, and we have to keep up,” she said. “Some of the most qualified technical experts at America’s most innovative companies are cannabis users – past or present.”
The bill will now move to the House floor and be voted on by all representatives.
