[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3205 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3205

 To direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to utilize all its 
authority, including its emergency powers, to curb immediately the role 
of excessive speculation in any contract market within the jurisdiction 
and control of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on or through 
 which energy futures or swaps are traded, and to eliminate excessive 
 speculation, price distortion, sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or 
   unwarranted changes in prices, or other unlawful activity that is 
    causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from 
   accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy 
                              commodities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 2008

 Ms. Cantwell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to utilize all its 
authority, including its emergency powers, to curb immediately the role 
of excessive speculation in any contract market within the jurisdiction 
and control of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on or through 
 which energy futures or swaps are traded, and to eliminate excessive 
 speculation, price distortion, sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or 
   unwarranted changes in prices, or other unlawful activity that is 
    causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from 
   accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy 
                              commodities.

    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 ``Energy Markets Emergency Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. ENERGY MARKETS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Commodity Futures Trading Commission was created as 
        an independent agency, in 1974, with the mandate to enforce and 
        administer the Commodity Exchange Act, to ensure market 
        integrity, to protect market users from fraud and abusive 
        trading practices, and to prevent and prosecute manipulation of 
        the price of any commodity in interstate commerce.
            (2) Congress has given the Commodity Futures Trading 
        Commission authority under the Commodity Exchange Act to take 
        necessary actions to address market emergencies.
            (3) The Commodity Futures Trading Commission may use its 
        emergency authority with respect to any major market 
        disturbance which prevents the market from accurately 
        reflecting the forces of supply and demand for a commodity.
            (4) Congress has declared, in section 4a of the Commodity 
        Exchange Act, that excessive speculation imposes an undue and 
        unnecessary burden on interstate commerce.
            (5) On June 6, 2008, the price of crude oil traded on the 
        New York Mercantile Exchange hit an all-time record of $139.12 
        per barrel.
            (6) The average price of a barrel of crude oil in 2007 was 
        $72, and the average price of a barrel of crude oil to date in 
        2008 is $109.
            (7) Heating oil futures contracts have risen in price from 
        $2.97 to $3.81 during the March through May contract months.
            (8) United States airlines are forecast to spend 
        $61,200,000,000 on jet fuel in 2008, which is $20,000,000,000 
        more than they spent for jet fuel in 2007.
            (9) According to the American Automobile Association--
                    (A) families and businesses are paying an average 
                of $4.07 per gallon for regular gasoline, which is near 
                the all-time high and is more than double the price in 
                2001; and
                    (B) truckers and farmers are paying an average of 
                $4.77 per gallon for diesel fuel, which is near the 
                all-time high and triple the price in 2001.
            (10) During this decade, energy demand has been steadily on 
        the rise in nations such as China and other Asian exporting 
        nations.
            (11) In a May 2008 report, the International Monetary Fund 
        raised the possibility that speculation has played a 
        significant role in the run-up of oil prices, and stated ``It 
        is hard to explain current oil prices in terms of fundamentals 
        alone. The recent surge in the oil price seems to go well 
        beyond what would be indicated by the growth of the world 
        economy.''.
    (b) Direction From Congress.--The Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission shall utilize all its authority, including its emergency 
powers, to--
            (1) curb immediately the role of excessive speculation in 
        any contract market within the jurisdiction and control of the 
        Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on or through which 
        energy futures or swaps are traded; and
            (2) eliminate excessive speculation, price distortion, 
        sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or unwarranted changes in 
        prices, or other unlawful activity that is causing major market 
        disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting 
        the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities.
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