Tag: federal

Categories
Politics

Secret Service returns fraudulent pandemic loans to federal SBA

Secret Service returns fraudulent pandemic loans to federal SBA

The US Secret Service returned $286 million in fraudulently obtained pandemic aid loans to the Small Business Administration, the agency announced Friday.

The funds sent back to the SBA were obtained via the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program using both fabricated information and stolen identities.

The suspects used Green Dot Bank, a fintech institution, to hold and move the fraudulent funds. More than 15,000 accounts were used in the conspiracy, by individuals in the US as well as domestic and transnational organized crime rings, the agency said.

Investigations are ongoing and further information about suspects was not immediately released. the Investigation was initiated by the Secret Service field office in Orlando, Florida, and Green Dot bank worked with the agency to identify the fraudulent accounts.

“Fraudsters in general are always looking for ways and techniques to better do their crimes and modern conveniences are just one of those things they use. So currently, cryptocurrency is a big thing, fintechs, third-party payment systems. But there’s not an institution , even our traditional financial institutions, that weren’t targeted during the pandemic,” Roy Dotson, lead investigator for the Secret Service, told CNBC in an interview.

Initial investigations indicated the majority of the fraudulent accounts at Green Dot were established with synthetic and stolen identities, and involved using “willing and unwilling money mules,” Dotson said.

The Secret Service and SBA Office of Inspector General put out advisories to 30,000 financial institutions in early 2020 to lay out fraud indicators and guide the banks to partner with federal agencies to recover fraudulent funds, Dotson said. He added these investigations will likely last years due to their size and scope.

OIG Inspector General Hannibal Ware said the partnership with the Secret Service has to date resulted in more than 400 indictments and nearly 300 convictions related to pandemic fraud.

The US government allocated more than $1 trillion to Main Street under both the Paycheck Protection Program and EIDL program. The PPP allowed small businesses to borrow loans that may be forgiven if the borrower used the majority of the capital on payroll, while the Covid-19 EIDL program allowed borrowers to access loans based on temporary losses of revenue due to the pandemic. An advance grant was also available under the EIDL.

Reviews of the two programs by the SBA’s Office of Inspector General warned that criminals would potentially exploit the system due to the fast-moving nature of the rollout and demand for aid. CNBC investigations revealed, in some cases, how easy it was for criminals to obtain fraudulent aid via stolen identities.

The SBA OIG said it has identified $87 billion of potentially fraudulent EIDL loans.

Over the past two years, the Secret Service said it has seized over $1.4 billion in fraudulently obtained funds and assisted in returning some $2.3 billion to state unemployment insurance programs. Nearly 4,000 pandemic-related fraud investigations and inquiries have been initiated by the Secret Service. More than 150 field offices and 40 cyber task forces are involved.

“This is not going to be a quick fix. As we talked about today, 15,325 accounts at one financial institution — this is one case, so you can just think of the potential number of suspects and how many investigations that could come out of those . And with all of our federal, state and local partners working this and having the same mission. It’s going to be a long process,” Dotson said at a news conference announcing the returned funds.

Categories
Politics

Biden pledges an enormous federal response for ‘so long as it takes’

Biden pledges a vast federal response for 'as long as it takes'

Dartanian Stovall looks at the house that collapsed with him inside during the peak of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 30, 2021.

Michael DeMocker | USA TODAY network via Reuters

WASHINGTON – The federal government is doing everything in its power to help Louisiana and Mississippi rescue residents and recover from Hurricane Ida, President Joe Biden told the governors of those states on Monday.

“We’re here to help you get back on your feet,” said Biden during a virtual briefing at the White House with Democratic Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Republican Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and others.

The hurricane hit land on Sunday as a strong Category 4 storm that supplied electricity to up to 2 million people in Louisiana and Mississippi. By Monday morning, one death had already been attributed to the storm. Edwards told MSNBC that he expected that number to grow significantly.

The massive federal response to the storm reinforces one of the pillars of Biden’s stance toward the presidency: his belief that the government is uniquely equipped to mobilize aid for millions of people.

“The people of Louisiana and Mississippi are resilient, but at moments like these we can see the power of government to meet people’s needs and serve people when the government is ready to respond. That’s our job, ”said Biden.

Five thousand National Guardsmen have been deployed across the southeast, Biden said, and more than 25,000 electrical crews and linemen from 30 states are “rolling in to assist”.

To assess the damage to electrical lines, Biden said he directed the Federal Aviation Administration to work with electrical companies to deploy surveillance drones in the affected areas.

Biden also authorized the Defense and Homeland Security departments to provide satellite imagery that could help assess the damage.

To help more people access cellular services, Biden said the Federal Communications Commission will enter into a cooperative framework agreement between cellular operators so that people can use each company’s roaming services.

CNBC policy

Read more about CNBC’s political coverage:

Biden was attended the briefing by former Louisiana MP Cedric Richmond, who stepped down from the House of Representatives in January to join the Biden administration as director of the White House Public Relations Office.

The president directed the governors to contact Richmond directly if they needed anything from the White House.

Ida first hit land over Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm with winds of 250 mph, one of the strongest storms to hit the region since Hurricane Katrina, which hit the area 16 years ago to the day.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell was also on-screen at the White House meeting, as was Cynthia Lee Sheng, President of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

Reeves and Edwards both thanked Biden for signing pre-landing federal emergency letters for their states, freeing up federal funds and resources to respond to the emergency.

“We have all the help you will need,” said Biden. “We’ll stand by you and the people of the Gulf while it takes you to recover.”

Officials downgraded Ida to a tropical storm on Monday en route inland, where it was expected to bring heavy rainfall, tornadoes and the potential for severe flooding later this week as it migrates up the Tennessee Valley and into the mid-Atlantic.

Rainfall could be 24 inches across parts of southeast Louisiana to the extreme south of Mississippi.

This was Biden’s second meeting in four days with governors of the storm-hit states. On Friday he met virtually with Edwards, Reeve and GOP Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.

Categories
Health

U.S. to require nursing houses workers get photographs or lose federal funding

U.S. to require nursing homes staff get shots or lose federal funding

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that his government will require all nursing home workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19, the latest move to protect Americans if the Delta variant spreads.

“Today I announce a new step,” said Biden in a speech at the White House. “If you work in a nursing home and care for people on Medicare or Medicaid, you also need to get vaccinated.”

Biden’s remarks came after an administrative official confirmed to NBC News that the government will withhold federal funding from nursing homes that don’t fully vaccinate their employees.

The new policy, which would hold back funding for Medicare and Medicaid nursing homes that fail to comply, could go into effect as early as next month, the official said, although the timing is fluid. This would affect around 15,000 nursing homes, which employ more than 1.3 million people nationwide.

The move comes as the highly contagious Delta variant is causing a surge in new cases nationwide, and federal officials say they are starting to see signs of declining vaccine protection against mild and moderate illnesses.

According to data compiled by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, roughly 60% of nursing home workers nationwide are vaccinated – much less than the 82.4% of residents who received the vaccinations. In some states, the percentage of nurses who have been vaccinated is even lower.

Some medical experts have asked the U.S. government to pressure nursing homes to vaccinate their staff, saying the unvaccinated staff put older residents at greater risk, who are more likely to become seriously ill or have something called a breakthrough infection.

“We have to go faster. So I’m taking vaccination measures where I can, ”Biden said in the speech.

The new rules for nursing homes are “all about keeping people safe and safe,” he said.

“This is no time to let our vigilance down. We just have to finish the job, with science, with facts and with confidence,” said the president.

Earlier in the day, federal health officials announced that they plan to provide booster shots to most Americans from the week of September 20th. They said it was “very clear” that immunity decreased after the first two doses, and with the dominance of the Delta variant, “we are gradually seeing signs of decreased protection against mild and moderate illnesses.”

“Based on our latest assessment, current protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death could decline in the coming months, especially for those at higher risk or who were vaccinated during the earlier stages of vaccination,” said the statement signed by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, White House Senior Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, and other US health leaders.

Nursing home residents, health care providers, and the elderly – the first groups to be vaccinated in December and January – will be targeted, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, likely prioritized to get extra vaccinations.

Categories
Politics

Biden Administration to Use Federal Civil Rights Workplace to Deter States From Faculty Masks Bans

Biden Administration to Use Federal Civil Rights Office to Deter States From School Mask Bans

The nation’s most vulnerable students, namely students with disabilities, low-income students and students of color, have suffered the deepest setbacks when districts pivoted to remote learning, and their disproportionate disengagement has long drawn concern from education leaders and civil rights watchdogs.

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, students are entitled to a free, appropriate public education, known as FAPE, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin.

The department could initiate its own investigations into districts, if state policies and actions rise to potential violations of students’ civil rights. It could also review complaints from parents and advocates who make the case that prohibiting masks mandates is, in effect, a civil rights violation because it could deny a student their right to an education by putting them in harm’s way in school. Such investigations could result in resolution agreements, as many investigations by the office often do, and in the most extreme cases result in revocation of federal funding.

Dr. Cardona said conversations with parents of children with autism, respiratory illness or weak immune systems, “who rely on school for socialization and the important building blocks of learning,” had contributed to his sense of urgency.

“I’ve heard those parents, saying ‘Miguel, because of these policies, my child cannot access their school, I would be putting them in harm’s way,’” Dr. Cardona said. “And to me, that goes against a free appropriate public education. That goes against of the fundamental beliefs of educators across the country to protect their students and provide a well rounded education.”

The administration will also send letters to six states — Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah — admonishing governors’ efforts to ban universal masking in schools.

Last week, Dr. Cardona sent similar letters to the governors of Texas and Florida, reminding them that districts had both the funding and the discretion to implement safety measures that the C.D.C. recommended for schools. The secretary also made clear that he supported district leaders who defied the governors’ orders.

Categories
Politics

Biden requiring federal staff to show Covid vaccine standing or undergo strict security guidelines

Biden requiring federal workers to prove Covid vaccine status or submit to strict safety rules

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the pace of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations in the United States during remarks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 29, 2021.

Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

“This is not about red states and blue states. It’s literally about life and death,” he said. “With freedom comes responsibility. Your decision to be unvaccinated impacts someone else.”

The new rules and perks come as officials at all levels of government struggle to bolster Covid vaccination rates that have flattened out in recent weeks, even as the highly transmissible delta variant spreads nationwide.

CNBC Politics

Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:

Some state and regional leaders have already put new vaccine protocols in place. California and New York announced earlier this week that they will require most state employees to either get vaccinated or face mandatory weekly Covid testing.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser earlier Thursday reimposed a requirement that masks be worn indoors, a measure that had been lifted months earlier, when new cases and deaths from Covid were on the decline.

Some major private corporations, such as Facebook and Google, are also making vaccination mandatory in order for employees in the U.S. to return to work.

In its own buildings, the federal government is requiring that every employee and on-site contractor “attest,” or confirm, their vaccination status, according to a White House fact sheet.

Those who do not will be required to wear a mask on the job, regardless of their location, and must comply with Covid testing once or twice per week, the White House said.

They will also have to be physically distanced from all other employees and visitors, and they may face restrictions on official travel, according to the fact sheet.

“It’s an American blessing that we have vaccines for each and every American,” Biden said Thursday afternoon. “It’s such a shame to squander that blessing.”

Biden also announced that a Covid reimbursement program, which paid back small- and medium-sized businesses that offered paid leave for their employees to get vaccinated, would be expanded to include workers’ family members and kids, as well.

And Biden called on school districts across the country to host pop-up vaccination clinics in the coming weeks, while directing federal pharmacy program partners to work with schools.

In his speech, Biden repeatedly stressed that despite the rise in cases, the vaccines remain highly effective at saving lives and preventing severe illness from Covid, including the delta variant. He noted that the overwhelming majority of people hospitalized and killed from the virus have not been inoculated, describing the current crisis as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Biden also attempted to assuage fears about so-called breakthrough infections among vaccinated people, saying that such cases are rare. He added that as of now, medical officials say there is no need for fully vaccinated people to seek out a booster shot — though he suggested that could change in the future.

“The vaccines are safe, highly effective. There’s nothing political about them,” Biden said, underscoring the point by praising Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for consistently supporting vaccinations.

“And his state’s in pretty good shape,” Biden added.

The Biden administration had previously discouraged federal agencies from requiring vaccination for on-site work.

The president in May had also proclaimed that, “If you’ve been vaccinated, you don’t have to wear your mask.”

But after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed its guidance on wearing masks indoors, Biden, who is fully vaccinated, said he would follow the agency’s recommendations.

Categories
Politics

Biden would require federal staff to get the Covid vaccine or undergo testing

Biden will require federal workers to get the Covid vaccine or submit to testing

President Joe Biden is expected to announce this week that his government will vaccinate federal employees against the coronavirus or undergo rigorous testing, NBC News reported Wednesday.

Biden will give a speech on Thursday to reveal the new rules following a review of the White House’s internal guidelines, two government officials told NBC. It is unclear when the changes will take effect.

Biden is also expected to announce new moves by his administration to increase the U.S. vaccination rate, which has slowed significantly in recent months and has fallen below the White House’s earlier targets, NBC reported.

The new measures come as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads around the world, including the United States, where it represents a large proportion of new infections.

CNBC policy

Read more about CNBC’s political coverage:

Public health officials warn the US could face another surge in cases this fall. They also point out that the overwhelming majority of people hospitalized or killed by Covid are unvaccinated and that “breakthrough infections” tend to be milder among those vaccinated.

In preparation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed their guidelines on wearing masks indoors on Tuesday. The CDC now recommends that fully vaccinated people and children wear masks indoors again in places with high Covid transmission rates and in schools.

On the same day, Biden said it was “being considered” whether the White House would require vaccination of all federal employees.

A government agency has already taken the plunge. On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it would order its health care workers to get vaccinated. VA Secretary Denis McDonough said it was “the best way to protect veterans”.

Biden also endorsed the CDC’s latest mask guidelines. And on Tuesday night, the White House Bureau of Management and Household Budget announced federal agencies that they must mandate masks for employees in all federal buildings in high-transmission areas, according to NBC.

The White House did not have to make a decision on compulsory vaccination until Tuesday night.

A source familiar with the considerations told CNBC at the time that a system of “vaccination certification” – which requires federal employees to confirm their vaccination status or follow safety measures such as wearing masks and regular tests – is “an option” under strong consideration. “

Categories
Politics

Biden says vaccine mandate for all federal workers is into consideration following VA order

Biden says vaccine mandate for all federal employees is under consideration following VA order

U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

President Joe Biden said Tuesday his administration was considering whether to vaccinate federal employees against the coronavirus as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads in the United States

“This is being considered,” Biden told reporters when asked if he would impose a vaccine mandate on all government employees.

The Biden administration had previously advised federal agencies not to require vaccinations for field work.

But on Monday the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would order its health care workers to get vaccinated, making it the first federal agency to issue such a mandate.

Veteran Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough described the new measure as “the best way to protect veterans”.

This is the latest news. Please check again for updates.

Categories
Health

Biden says some qualify for federal incapacity assets

Biden says some qualify for federal disability resources

U.S. President Joe Biden signs a proclamation on the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as (L-R) artist Tyree Brown, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT), former Rep. Tony Coelho (D-CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) look on in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 26, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Monday announced that some Americans experiencing long-term effects of Covid may qualify for disability resources and protections from the federal government. 

The announcement came as the president marked the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in a speech at the White House Rose Garden with Vice President Kamala Harris. It also comes as the long-term symptoms of the virus, what some call “long Covid,” shapes up to be a major public health issue. 

“We are bringing agencies together to make sure Americans with long Covid, who have a disability, have access to the rights and resources that are due under disability law,” Biden said during his remarks.

Under guidance issued by Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice, “long Covid” can qualify as a disability under federal civil rights laws if it “substantially limits one or more major life activities.” 

This means individuals with “long Covid” symptoms that rise to a disability are entitled to resources and protection from discrimination under federal disability laws. An individual assessment is necessary to determine whether a person with “long Covid” qualifies for such protections and resources, according to the guidance. 

“Long covid” describes a wide range of new or ongoing symptoms that can follow four or more weeks after a Covid infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes tiredness and fatigue, joint or muscle pain, loss of taste or smell and a fever, among other symptoms. 

Some people can also experience damage to multiple organs including the heart, lungs, kidney, skin and brain, according to the CDC. But “long Covid” symptoms are not consistent and it is unknown how many people have the condition. 

The Biden administration also released new guidance that addresses the needs of children with “long Covid” who may have disabilities. The guidance, issued under the Department of Education, outlines how schools and public agencies can provide services to children and students with “long Covid” that rises to a disability. 

Other efforts to support Americans with “long Covid” include a new guidance issued by the HHS that outlines community-based resources for those with the condition, and a new website launched by the Labor Department that includes resources for workers with “long Covid,” such as information on employee benefits. 

Most people who contract Covid recover within a few weeks, but reports of “long Covid” symptoms have been growing amongst Americans. 

Research released by FAIR Health last month found that approximately 23% of nearly 2 million Covid patients have developed at least one “persistent or new” medical condition more than four weeks after their initial diagnosis.

Categories
Health

Federal decide guidelines that Indiana College can require Covid vaccines for college kids

Federal judge rules that Indiana University can require Covid vaccines for students

A medical worker will receive the Covid-19 vaccine on April 7, 2021 at Sun Yat-sen University’s First Affiliated Hospital in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.

Southern image | Visual China Group | Getty Images

A federal judge ruled Sunday that Indiana University may require its students to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the first decision to maintain an educational institution’s vaccine mandate.

Judge Damon R. Leichty of the U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana denied a restraining order that would have prevented the school from getting vaccinated by most students, faculty, and staff at least two weeks before the fall semester.

Students who fail to get vaccinated and who are not given a waiver will not be able to go to campus or use university email accounts. Your campus access cards will be deactivated, the judge wrote.

Eight students sued the school shortly after the policy was announced in May on the grounds that the mandate violated their physical autonomy and medical privacy. They also argued against mask requirements and Covid tests, but the judge also denied these requests, saying: “There is no basic constitutional right not to wear a mask”.

“They are asking the court to issue an injunction – an extraordinary remedy that requires strong evidence that they are likely to succeed on the merits, that they will suffer irreparable harm, and that the balance of the harms and the public interest this favor a remedy “, it said in the opinion of the judge.” The court now rejects your application. “

The lawsuit could have wider implications for other schools. Hundreds of higher education institutions, including the state and city university systems in New York and California, mandated vaccines for students this fall.

“Recognizing the substantial freedom that students have to opt out of undesirable medical treatment, the Fourteenth Amendment allows Indiana University to pursue adequate and proper vaccination procedures in the legitimate public health interests of its students, faculties, and staff,” the judge wrote in his 101st Amendment -side opinion.

The New York Times reported that James Bopp Jr., who represented the students, announced that he would appeal to the US Supreme Court. He said America’s frontline doctors – a conservative group that has protested multiple public health measures for Covid-19, including vaccines – will cover the costs, according to the Times.

Categories
Politics

In a Milestone, Schumer Will Suggest Federal Decriminalization of Marijuana

In a Milestone, Schumer Will Propose Federal Decriminalization of Marijuana

WASHINGTON — Senator Chuck Schumer of New York plans to propose legislation on Wednesday to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, putting his weight as majority leader behind a growing movement to unwind the decades-old war on drugs.

The draft bill, called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and begin regulating and taxing it, placing federal rules on a burgeoning industry that has faced years of uncertainty. Though states would still be allowed to set their own marijuana laws, businesses and individuals in states that have legalized its use would be free for the first time to sell and consume it without the risk of federal punishment.

The proposal would also try to make recompense to communities of color and the poor for damage from years of restrictive federal drug policy. It calls for immediately expunging nonviolent marijuana-related arrests and convictions from federal records and would earmark new tax revenue for restorative justice programs intended to lift up communities affected by “the failed federal prohibition of cannabis.”

The bill aims to “finally turn the page on this dark chapter in American history and begin righting these wrongs,” said Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, who wrote the bill with Mr. Schumer and Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and the chairman of the Finance Committee.

The legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republicans are opposed, and it is unlikely to become law in the near future. President Biden has not endorsed it, and some moderate Democrats are likely to balk at the implications of decriminalizing a drug that has been policed and stigmatized for so long.

But in the arc of the public’s rapid reconsideration of marijuana laws, the presentation on Wednesday was a remarkable milestone for legalization proponents. The suggestion that the Senate’s top leader and the chairman of the powerful Finance Committee would sponsor major decriminalization legislation would have been fantastical in the not-too-distant past.

In a speech on April 20, the unofficial holiday for marijuana smokers, Mr. Schumer said he was trying to prod Washington off the sidelines of a debate in which much of the country was already engaged. Public opinion polling suggests that nearly 70 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use, and 18 states plus D.C. allow recreational use by adults.

Mr. Schumer has also made no secret that he believes Democrats stand to benefit politically from embracing the legalization push, particularly with young voters.

“Hopefully, the next time this unofficial holiday of 4/20 rolls around, our country will have made progress in addressing the massive overcriminalization of marijuana in a meaningful and comprehensive way,” he said in April.

The senators were expected to detail their plans later Wednesday morning at a news conference at the Capitol.

Updated 

July 13, 2021, 8:18 p.m. ET

They are expected to propose empowering the Food and Drug Administration and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau at the Treasury Department to begin regulating the production, distribution and sale of marijuana, removing the Drug Enforcement Administration from its current oversight role. Among other implications, the changes would allow marijuana companies already operating in states where it is legal to gain full access to the United States banking system.

The legislation would gradually institute a federal excise tax like the one on alcohol and tobacco sales, eventually as high as 25 percent for big businesses, allowing the federal government to benefit from sales that came close to $20 billion in 2020. The revenue would then be funneled back to communities most affected by federal drug policy and to fund expanded medical research into cannabis that is currently limited by its status as a controlled substance.

One provision, for instance, would establish a cannabis justice office at the Justice Department to help fund job training, legal aid and help with re-entry after incarceration. Another program would promote loans to small cannabis businesses owned by members of racially or economically marginalized groups to try to ensure that communities that suffered disproportionately under the war on drugs are not left out of the gold rush that has accompanied legalization.

But the bill would aim to make other, more direct attempts to compensate for the impacts of years of aggressive policing. In addition to expunging past arrests and convictions, it would entitle those who are currently serving sentences for nonviolent federal drug crime to a court hearing to reconsider their sentences. And if enacted, the federal government would no longer be able to discriminate against marijuana users seeking federal housing, food or health benefits.

The Democratic-led House passed similar legislation in December, with a handful of Republicans joining to vote in favor. The vote was the first and only time either chamber had endorsed the legalization of cannabis, but the bill died at the end of the last Congress. House leaders plan to pass an updated version in the coming months.

Passage through the Senate is likely to be more tricky. Mr. Schumer would need to assemble 60 votes, meaning he would need the support of at least 10 Republicans. Though libertarian-leaning Republicans have generally supported ending the prohibition of marijuana, party leaders are likely to oppose the Democrats’ plan, particularly with its emphasis on restorative justice and government intervention in the cannabis industry.

But opposition is not limited to Republicans. Mr. Schumer would have to persuade moderate Democrats who are uncomfortable with the implications of decriminalization to support it.

Mr. Biden supports decriminalizing marijuana and pulling back the war on drugs, but his views are generally more conservative than many Democrats’ and he has not endorsed Mr. Schumer’s proposal. His White House made headlines this spring for pushing out five staff members over their use of marijuana.