Rules Committee sends CFTC bill to House floor
June 19, 2014 | 12:52 PM
The House Rules Committee on Wednesday adopted a structured rule on the bill to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has advised that the debate on the rule will occur today.
But Cantor also said that the House is expected to complete consideration of the fiscal year 2015 Defense Appropriations bill, so the amount of progress to be made on the CFTC reauthorization bill is uncertain.
The rule includes a number of amendments. (See link.)
The National Grain and Feed Association and more than 30 other agribusiness groups on Wednesday urged the House to adopt the bill.
In a letter to House members, the agriculture groups said the bill provides:
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.
But House Rules Committee ranking member Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., said the bill will be “a precursor to another financial crisis.”
“I was here six short years ago when recklessness on Wall Street triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and cost millions of hardworking Americans their jobs,” Slaughter said in a news release.
“Since then, Democratic majorities in the House and Senate enacted reforms — known commonly as Dodd-Frank — to stop the worst of these abuses with the aim of preventing another economic meltdown.
“Unfortunately, the CFTC reauthorization passed out of the Rules Committee today is a backdoor attempt to undo some of these crucial reforms, and is a precursor to another financial crisis,” Slaughter said.
“Specifically, the bill seeks to handcuff and obstruct law enforcement officials charged with overseeing the markets and enforcing regulations on Wall Street. We know how this movie ends – if this bill moves forward as written, we are sowing the seeds for future disaster in this country.”
▪ H.R. 4413 — Customer Protection and End User Relief Act: Rules Committee Print
▪ — Section-by-Section Summary
▪ Letter to House
But Cantor also said that the House is expected to complete consideration of the fiscal year 2015 Defense Appropriations bill, so the amount of progress to be made on the CFTC reauthorization bill is uncertain.
The rule includes a number of amendments. (See link.)
The National Grain and Feed Association and more than 30 other agribusiness groups on Wednesday urged the House to adopt the bill.
In a letter to House members, the agriculture groups said the bill provides:
- Enhanced reporting, transparency and accountability in futures markets. “These much-needed improvements will help prevent another MF Global,” the letter said.
- The ability for customers to “claw back” assets from a parent firm in the event of a shortfall of customer funds in FCM insolvencies – something that wasn’t possible with MF Global.
- A roadmap for the CFTC to perform “meaningful cost-benefit analysis” before proposing major rules.
- A solution to the “very troubling ‘residual interest’ rule approved last fall by CFTC that would force customers to pre-margin hedge accounts, thereby putting perhaps twice as much customer money at risk, dramatically increasing hedging costs, and likely driving farmers, ranchers and small hedgers out of the futures market.”
- Relief from technologically infeasible record-keeping requirements in the cash commodity markets.
But House Rules Committee ranking member Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., said the bill will be “a precursor to another financial crisis.”
“I was here six short years ago when recklessness on Wall Street triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and cost millions of hardworking Americans their jobs,” Slaughter said in a news release.
“Since then, Democratic majorities in the House and Senate enacted reforms — known commonly as Dodd-Frank — to stop the worst of these abuses with the aim of preventing another economic meltdown.
“Unfortunately, the CFTC reauthorization passed out of the Rules Committee today is a backdoor attempt to undo some of these crucial reforms, and is a precursor to another financial crisis,” Slaughter said.
“Specifically, the bill seeks to handcuff and obstruct law enforcement officials charged with overseeing the markets and enforcing regulations on Wall Street. We know how this movie ends – if this bill moves forward as written, we are sowing the seeds for future disaster in this country.”
▪ H.R. 4413 — Customer Protection and End User Relief Act: Rules Committee Print
▪ — Section-by-Section Summary
▪ Letter to House
