House passes CFTC reauthorization, but Senate bill may be different
June 24, 2014 | 08:11 PM
The House today passed the Customer Protection and End User Relief Act, which reauthorizes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for five years through 2018.
The vote was 265 to 144.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., who managed the bill on the House floor, said he was “pleased to have the support of my colleagues on a bill that touches nearly every part of the economy.”
Lucas said the bill would ensure that the CFTC “is working in the most efficient and effective way.”
“It also cements key protections into law for futures customers, such as our nation’s farmers and ranchers, and reduces the regulatory load on end-users who represent 94 percent of American job creators,” he said. “I am hopeful that the Senate will take up this wide-ranging, bipartisan bill in a timely fashion so market participants have the certainty they deserve.”
Some critics and House Democrats said that the bill would gut the Dodd-Frank financial services reform bill, but House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said he supported the bill, which emerged from the House Agriculture Committee on a unanimous bipartisan vote.
In remarkably similar floor speeches late Monday, Lucas and Peterson said that the bill would better protects farmers and ranchers who use the futures markets by including new regulatory provisions that arose out of the MF Global bankruptcy and the fraud that occurred at Peregrine Financial.
They also noted that the bill directs the Government Accountability Office to examine the CFTC’s funding needs and provides clarity to agricultural and energy producer end users who did not cause the 2008 financial meltdown.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., praised the House for passing the bill but signaled that she was not completely satisfied with its legislation.
“I’m pleased to see the House bill includes measures related to customer protections as well as important considerations for end users like farmers, ranchers and small businesses who rely on the markets to hedge risk,” Stabenow said in a statement. “These are areas where we can certainly work together.”
“However, we have 21st century markets and we need a 21st century regulator to match,” she added.
“We must make sure the agency responsible for protecting these markets has the resources, authority, staff and technology it needs to be effective — especially in the wake of the 2008 global financial collapse which left 8 million Americans without jobs and devastated hard working families across the country. It is disappointing that the bill provides no additional funding mechanism and adds new layers of administrative burdens, hindering the agency’s ability to do its job and effectively regulate these markets.”
“As I’ve said before, the Senate will examine lessons from the past and consider ongoing challenges to the system as we write our bill. We have an important opportunity for market reform, to restore faith in the markets and help ensure they are transparent and functioning as intended — and we intend on doing that in a collaborative and bipartisan way.”
The vote was 265 to 144.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., who managed the bill on the House floor, said he was “pleased to have the support of my colleagues on a bill that touches nearly every part of the economy.”
Lucas said the bill would ensure that the CFTC “is working in the most efficient and effective way.”
“It also cements key protections into law for futures customers, such as our nation’s farmers and ranchers, and reduces the regulatory load on end-users who represent 94 percent of American job creators,” he said. “I am hopeful that the Senate will take up this wide-ranging, bipartisan bill in a timely fashion so market participants have the certainty they deserve.”
Some critics and House Democrats said that the bill would gut the Dodd-Frank financial services reform bill, but House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said he supported the bill, which emerged from the House Agriculture Committee on a unanimous bipartisan vote.
In remarkably similar floor speeches late Monday, Lucas and Peterson said that the bill would better protects farmers and ranchers who use the futures markets by including new regulatory provisions that arose out of the MF Global bankruptcy and the fraud that occurred at Peregrine Financial.
They also noted that the bill directs the Government Accountability Office to examine the CFTC’s funding needs and provides clarity to agricultural and energy producer end users who did not cause the 2008 financial meltdown.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., praised the House for passing the bill but signaled that she was not completely satisfied with its legislation.
“I’m pleased to see the House bill includes measures related to customer protections as well as important considerations for end users like farmers, ranchers and small businesses who rely on the markets to hedge risk,” Stabenow said in a statement. “These are areas where we can certainly work together.”
“However, we have 21st century markets and we need a 21st century regulator to match,” she added.
“We must make sure the agency responsible for protecting these markets has the resources, authority, staff and technology it needs to be effective — especially in the wake of the 2008 global financial collapse which left 8 million Americans without jobs and devastated hard working families across the country. It is disappointing that the bill provides no additional funding mechanism and adds new layers of administrative burdens, hindering the agency’s ability to do its job and effectively regulate these markets.”
“As I’ve said before, the Senate will examine lessons from the past and consider ongoing challenges to the system as we write our bill. We have an important opportunity for market reform, to restore faith in the markets and help ensure they are transparent and functioning as intended — and we intend on doing that in a collaborative and bipartisan way.”
