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has dropped a bid that would have allowed former marijuana users to join spy agencies after a pair of senators raised security concerns.
on Friday identified Sens. Chuck Grassley, 89, and John Cornyn, 70, as the two lawmakers who pushed for the removal of a provision that prohibited agencies from disqualifying candidates based solely on prior pot use.
That language had been included in the annual funding bill for the nation’s intelligence agencies, which was passed out of the Intelligence Committee unanimously in a closed-door vote earlier this year.
Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the Intelligence Committee that there were concerns among his membership that the provision would impact the security clearance process, a Grassley spokesperson told The Journal.
A spokesperson for Cornyn declined to comment to the newspaper.
Congress has dropped a bid that would have allowed former marijuana users to join spy agencies after a pair of Republican senators raised security concerns
The Wall Street Journal on Friday identified Sens. Chuck Grassley (left), 89, and John Cornyn (right), 70 as the two lawmakers who pushed for the removal of a provision
Top committee Democrats expressed disappointment that the provision had been nixed.
‘I’m disappointed that partisan objections are going to block the inclusion of this sensible reform, which passed out of the Senate Intelligence Committee on a bipartisan 11-5 vote,’ Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner told The Journal.
The provision was sponsored by Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, business opportunity a member of the committee.
‘People seeking security clearances to serve their country should not be disqualified for cannabis use,’ Wyden told the paper. ‘Our national security depends on intelligence agencies having access to the best people for the job, particularly when it comes to cybersecurity and other technical fields.’
‘Senate Republicans are sacrificing security for misguided government morality policing when they block these commonsense reforms,’ Wyden added.
Recreational marijuana is legal in 21 states and Washington, D.C., with another 10 states decriminalizing its use.
At the same time, hiring practices for intelligence agencies have remained rigid, while the private sector has kept up with the times and allowed for previous marijuana use — pulling potential job candidates away from the government.
Applicants for these agencies are generally asked if they’ve used pot in the past seven years, according to a 2016 version of the standard application form, The Journal noted.
Last December, the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said that marijuana use would be ‘relevant, but not determinative’ for hiring.