[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6921 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6921

   To provide additional oversight and transparency to the commodity 
futures markets by authorizing greater resources and authority for the 
     Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2008

 Mr. Moran of Kansas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                    to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide additional oversight and transparency to the commodity 
futures markets by authorizing greater resources and authority for the 
     Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commodity Prices Oversight and 
Transparency Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE HOUSE ON ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR COMMISSION.

    (a) Findings.--The House of Representatives finds that--
            (1) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should further 
        examine whether speculators are manipulating futures market 
        prices to cause artificial prices that do not reflect the 
        legitimate forces of supply and demand;
            (2) the public is concerned that trades executed on foreign 
        boards of trade when linked to the prices of contracts traded 
        on U.S. registered entities may need additional oversight;
            (3) the exclusive Federal regulator of commodity futures 
        markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has staffing 
        levels that have dropped to the lowest levels in the 33-year 
        history of the Commission; and
            (4) the acting Chairman of the Commission has said publicly 
        that an additional 100 employees are needed in light of the 
        inflow of trading volume.
    (b) Sense of the House.--It is the sense of the House of 
Representatives that the President should immediately send to Congress 
a request for additional appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission in an amount that is sufficient--
            (1) to help restore public confidence in commodity futures 
        markets and Federal oversight of those markets;
            (2) to allow the Commission to reduce the potential threat 
        of market manipulation or congestion by potential imposition of 
        position limitations for speculators should the Commission 
        determine the absence of position limitations for speculators 
        is causing an increase in the price of oil, gasoline, diesel, 
        and other energy commodities;
            (3) to significantly improve the information technology 
        capabilities of the Commission to help the Commission 
        effectively regulate the commodity futures markets; and
            (4) to fund at least 100 new full-time positions at the 
        Commission to regulate commodity futures market transactions 
        and to enforce the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL COMMISSION EMPLOYEES FOR IMPROVED ENFORCEMENT.

    Section 2(a)(7) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2(a)(7)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Additional employees.--Contingent on 
                sufficient appropriations, as soon as practicable after 
                the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the 
                Commission shall appoint additional full-time employees 
                (in addition to the employees employed by the 
                Commission as of the date of enactment of this 
                subparagraph)--
                            ``(i) to increase the public transparency 
                        of operations in commodity futures markets;
                            ``(ii) to improve the enforcement of this 
                        Act in those markets; and
                            ``(iii) to carry out such other duties as 
                        are prescribed by the Commission.''.

SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY FOR CONTRACTS TRADING ON 
              FOREIGN BOARDS OF TRADE.

    Section 4 of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Foreign Boards of Trade.--
            ``(1) Whenever a foreign board of trade lists for trading a 
        contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or related 
        option) which, by its terms, settles against the price of any 
        contract or contracts traded on a registered entity and the 
        Commission determines that it is necessary or appropriate to 
        enhance and coordinate market surveillance and regulatory 
        oversight with respect to trading on the registered entity and 
        the foreign board of trade, the Commission shall contact the 
        foreign board of trade's applicable foreign futures authority 
        to discuss, adopt, and implement mutually acceptable, enhanced 
        procedures and processes for preventing market manipulation or 
        congestion and ensuring coordinated market surveillance.
            ``(2) Whenever a registered entity lists for trading a 
        contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or related 
        option) which, by its terms, settles against the price of any 
        contract or contracts in a commodity traded on a foreign board 
        of trade and the foreign futures authority that regulates such 
        foreign board of trade determines that it is necessary or 
        appropriate to enhance and coordinate market surveillance and 
        regulatory oversight with respect to trading on the registered 
        entity and the foreign board of trade, the Commission shall 
        cooperate with any reasonable request from the foreign futures 
        authority to discuss, adopt, and implement mutually acceptable, 
        enhanced procedures and processes for preventing market 
        manipulation or congestion and ensuring coordinated market 
        surveillance.
            ``(3) When it is determined necessary or appropriate to 
        enhance and coordinate market surveillance and regulatory 
        oversight under paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection, the 
        Commission shall discuss with the applicable foreign futures 
        authority whether, among other processes for preventing market 
        manipulation or congestion and ensuring coordinated market 
        surveillance to be agreed to by the Commission and the foreign 
        futures authority, it is necessary and appropriate to provide 
        for--
                    ``(A) a foreign board of trade or registered entity 
                to make public daily information on settlement prices, 
                volume, open interest, and opening and closing ranges 
                for the agreement, contract or transaction that is 
                comparable to the daily trading information made public 
                for the contract against which it settles;
                    ``(B) position limitations (including provisions 
                allowing for exemptions for bona fide hedging 
                transactions or positions) or position accountability 
                for speculators for the agreement, contract, or 
                transaction that are comparable to the position 
                limitations (including provisions allowing for 
                exemptions for bona fide hedging transactions or 
                positions) or position accountability for the contract 
                or contracts against which it settles;
                    ``(C) the foreign board of trade (or its foreign 
                futures authority) or registered entity to provide 
                information to the Commission or foreign futures 
                authority regarding large trader positions in the 
                agreement, contract, or transaction that is comparable 
                to the large trader position information collected by 
                the foreign futures authority or Commission for the 
                contract or contracts against which it settles; or
                    ``(D) the foreign board of trade or registered 
                entity to provide information to the Commission or 
                foreign futures authority regarding the extent of 
                trading by bona fide hedgers and other types of traders 
                in the agreement, contract, or transaction that is 
                comparable to the information collected by the foreign 
                futures authority or Commission for the contract or 
                contracts against which it settles.''.

SEC. 5. LIABLITY OF REGISTERED PERSONS TRADING ON A FOREIGN BOARD OF 
              TRADE.

    (a) Section 4(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6(a)) is 
amended by inserting ``or by subsection (f)'' after the phrase ``Unless 
exempted by the Commission pursuant to subsection (c)''.
    (b) Section 4 of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6) is further 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) No person registered with the Commission, or exempt from 
registration by the Commission, under this Act may be found to violate 
subsection (a) if such person has reason to believe the contract of 
sale of a commodity for future delivery is made on or subject to the 
rules of a board of trade that is legally organized under the laws of a 
foreign country, authorized to act as a board of trade by a foreign 
futures authority, subject to regulation by such foreign futures 
authority, and has not been determined by the Commission to be 
operating in violation of subsection (a).''.

SEC. 6. CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT FOR FOREIGN FUTURES CONTRACTS.

    Section 22(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 25(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) No contract of sale of a commodity for future 
        delivery traded or executed on or through the facilities of a 
        board of trade, exchange, or market located outside the United 
        States for purposes of section 4(a) shall be void, voidable, or 
        unenforceable and no party to such contract shall be entitled 
        to rescind or recover any payments made with respect to such 
        contract based upon the failure of the foreign board of trade 
        to comply with any provision of this Act.''.

SEC. 7. DISAGGREGATION OF INDEX FUNDS AND OTHER DATA IN COMMODITY 
              MARKETS.

    Section 4 of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6) is further 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Index Traders and Swap Dealers; Disaggregation of Index 
Funds.--
            ``(1) Reporting.--The Commission shall--
                    ``(A) issue a proposed rule regarding routine 
                reporting requirements for index traders and swap 
                dealers (as those terms are defined by the Commission) 
                in futures markets for exempt and agricultural 
                commodities not later than 180 days after the date of 
                enactment of this subsection, and issue a final rule 
                regarding such reporting not later than 270 days after 
                the date of enactment of this subsection; and
                    ``(B) subject to the provisions of section 8, 
                disaggregate and make public monthly information on the 
                positions and value of index funds and other passive 
                positions (as that term is defined by the Commission) 
                where such positions are material to a commodity 
                futures or options markets.
            ``(2) Report.--The Commission shall, at such intervals as 
        the Commission determines necessary to provide current 
        information and recommendations that will further congressional 
        oversight of the futures markets, submit a report to the 
        Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and 
        the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
        Senate regarding--
                    ``(A) the scope of commodity index trading in the 
                futures market;
                    ``(B) whether, and if so how, classification of 
                index traders and swap dealers in the future markets 
                can be improved for published Commission reports and 
                other regulatory purposes; and
                    ``(C) whether, based on review of the trading 
                practices for index traders in the futures markets--
                            ``(i) index trading activity is adversely 
                        affecting the price discovery process in the 
                        futures markets; and
                            ``(ii) different practices and controls 
                        should be required to protect the price 
                        discovery process.''.
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