“Thank you Mr. Chairman. I want to welcome CFTC Chairman Gensler for what I have been told is his 50th appearance before a Congressional Committee, going all the way back to his confirmation hearing. That has to be some kind of record.
“For his first two years in office, Chairman Gensler was helping us fix the financial mess left over from years of de-regulation and lax oversight. During the past two years, he has been called to account for the Commission’s implementation of the Dodd-Frank reforms Congress enacted in 2010.
“Last Congress, this Committee held several hearings where we listened to a host of stakeholders express concerns about Dodd-Frank’s implementation. At each of these hearings, I repeatedly recommended patience and caution for those seeking to change the law. I believe that patience has generally been rewarded, with the Commission producing thoughtful, final rules that respond to the concerns being raised.
“Today’s hearing is to examine legislative proposals seeking to address many of those same concerns and I, again, recommend patience.
“Despite the bipartisan support that some of these bills may have, I just don’t see how they have any chance passing the Senate.
“Additionally, given the CFTC’s performance, I still believe that much of the legislation we’re discussing today will not be needed. The CFTC is going to get this right. To date, many of the final rules coming out of the Commission have broad bipartisan support and are addressing the concerns that stakeholders have expressed to both us and the Commission.
“Ironically, the issue that may truly need to be addressed - margin requirements on end-users - is a problem not being caused by the CFTC, but by the proposed rule of the Prudential Regulators. We really should be bringing the Prudential Regulators in to answer questions about their proposed rule because we aren’t holding them held accountable for their actions. I raised this same issue in previous Congress when we held a hearing on the predecessor to H.R. 634.
“Sometime this summer, the CFTC will complete the vast majority of its rulemaking. To me, that is the best time to see what has been done and fix what needs to be fixed. Hopefully, we will have completed our work in the House on the farm bill and can turn our attention to CFTC reauthorization, which I believe is the best chance for enacting any improvements to Dodd-Frank, if necessary.
“With that Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the time and I yield back."
Source: House Committee on Agriculture
