Today, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a public hearing to further review the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) rulemaking process for implementing title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
“The CFTC has proposed an array of rules that, as they currently stand, exceed Congressional intent and demonstrate a lack of regulatory focus amid a shortage of resources. Further exacerbating the problem is the Commission’s seemingly complete disregard for conducting a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis. It is incumbent upon the Commission to begin gravitating towards prioritizing their regulatory focus on mitigating systemic risk in a manner that represents Congressional intent and takes heed to the overwhelming comments of concern by market participants thus far,” said Chairman K. Michael Conaway.
“More than 38 million U.S. citizens, whether they are farmers, manufacturers, accountants, or municipal workers, are employed in a business that uses derivatives to hedge risk and protect against market volatility. I am committed to working with our agencies that have been charged with implementing Wall Street Reform. We must ensure this process is transparent and that we have the tools and personnel to regulate this market with efficiency and transparency, and without hindering its practical uses,” said Ranking Member Leonard L. Boswell.
Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available below and can be found on the Committee’s website by clicking here.
Witness List:
Panel I
Mr. Dan M. Berkovitz, General Counsel, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Washington, D.C.
Panel II
Mr. Terrence A. Duffy, Executive Chairman, CME Group, Inc., Chicago, Illinois
Mr. Hal S. Scott, Director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, Nomura Professor and Director of the Program on International Financial Systems at Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dr. James Overdahl, Vice President, National Economic Research Associates, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Karrie McMillan, General Counsel, Investment Company Institute, Washington, D.C.
Mr. I. Michael Greenberger, Professor, University of Maryland, School of Law, Baltimore, Maryland