WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today held a Committee hearing to consider the nominations of Dr. Christopher Brummer and Brian Quintenz to serve as Commissioners of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Per Committee Rules, a final vote on the nominations must occur in a separate business meeting of the Committee.
Click here to watch the hearing.
In April, the Committee passed legislation reauthorizing the CFTC, which has the widespread support of state and national agricultural organizations and businesses. In May 2015, the Committee held a hearing on regulatory issues impacting agricultural end-users and market liquidity.
The following is Chairman Roberts’ opening statement as prepared for delivery:
I call this hearing of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee to order.
I welcome my colleagues as we consider the nominations of Dr. Christopher Brummer and Mr. Brian Quintenz to serve as Commissioners of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The CFTC is charged with fostering open, transparent, competitive, and financially sound markets, and to avoid systemic risk. Further, the Commission is tasked with protecting market users and their funds, consumers, and the public from fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices related to derivatives and other products that are subject to the Commodity Exchange Act.
In order to fulfill its mission, the Commission is comprised of five Commissioners nominated by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Currently, there are two Commissioner vacancies at the CFTC. And that is what brings us here today.
As noted by the CFTC’s own mission statement: Farmers, ranchers, producers, commercial companies (or end-users), municipalities, pension funds and others use markets to lock in a price or a rate and focus on what they do best – innovating, producing goods and services for the economy, and creating jobs.
It is essential that the CFTC have individuals in charge that truly take that mission statement to heart, as the innovation and hard work of our farmers and ranchers seems to have been forgotten in recent years.
As I have said before, it was not the farmer, the rancher, the producer, or the commercial end-user that caused the great financial crisis of 2008 – yet they are paying the price.
Many of us here raised concerns when Dodd-Frank was being considered and insisted that the legislation should not negatively impact those who had nothing to do with the causes of the 2008 crisis, and it is important to note that this was a bipartisan concern.
Yet, when Dodd-Frank became law, and the CFTC began writing new regulations, it is in fact our farmers, our ranchers, our county grain elevator managers who felt the heavy hand of over-regulation come down on them.
We hear concerns from constituents who describe in detail the regulatory overreach stemming from the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act.
In order to address those concerns, this Committee passed a bill in April titled the Commodity End-User Relief Act. The bill champions compromise and a responsible solution to providing regulatory certainty to “end-users,” while increasing customer protections.
As the futures and derivatives markets have grown to include a producer’s input costs, like fuel and fertilizer, so too has the producer’s risk management toolbox. And, more options for managing risk are a good thing.
It is clear that Congress should not withhold needed regulatory relief for our farmers, ranchers, and risk management service providers any longer. Nor should the CFTC.
The CFTC must look through the lens of regulatory practicality - not the lens of regulatory irrationality.
It is also important the CFTC discontinue its expansion of its jurisdiction where systemic risk is not present.
It is imperative that all Commissioners understand the historic nature of the markets the CFTC regulates, and truly understand risk mitigation, as well as associated costs of regulations.
I thank both of the nominees for being here today, and I look forward to your testimonies. I now turn to my colleague, Ranking Member Stabenow, for her opening remarks.
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