[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4391 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4391

  To require the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to take certain 
       actions to reduce excessive speculation in energy markets.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 18, 2012

  Ms. Hochul introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to take certain 
       actions to reduce excessive speculation in energy markets.

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

SECTION 1. ENERGY MARKETS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was created as 
        an independent agency, in 1974, with a mandate--
                    (A) to enforce and administer the Commodity 
                Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.);
                    (B) to ensure market integrity;
                    (C) to protect market users from fraud and abusive 
                trading practices; and
                    (D) 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 (7 U.S.C. 
        1 et seq.) to take necessary actions to address market 
        emergencies;
            (3) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission may use the 
        emergency authority of the Commission with respect to any major 
        market disturbance that prevents the market from accurately 
        reflecting the forces of supply and demand for a commodity;
            (4) Congress declared in section 4a of the Commodity 
        Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6a) that excessive speculation imposes 
        an undue and unnecessary burden on interstate commerce;
            (5) according to an article published in Forbes on February 
        27, 2012, excessive oil speculation ``translates out into a 
        premium for gasoline at the pump of $.56 a gallon'' based on a 
        recent report from Goldman Sachs;
            (6) on March 30, 2012--
                    (A) the supply of crude oil and gasoline was higher 
                than the supply was on March 27, 2009, when the 
                national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded 
                gasoline was just $2.04; and
                    (B) demand for gasoline in the United States was 
                lower than demand was on April 3, 1998;
            (7) on March 30, 2012, the national average price of 
        regular unleaded gasoline was over $3.94 a gallon, the highest 
        national average price ever recorded in the United States 
        during the month of March;
            (8) during the last quarter of 2011, according to the 
        International Energy Agency--
                    (A) the world oil supply rose by 1,300,000 barrels 
                per day while demand only increased by 700,000 barrels 
                per day; but
                    (B) the price of Texas light sweet crude rose by 
                over 12 percent;
            (9) on November 3, 2011, Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the 
        Commodity Futures Trading Commission testified before the 
        Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that ``80 to 87 
        percent of the [oil futures] market'' is dominated by 
        ``financial participants, swap dealers, hedge funds, and other 
        financials,'' a figure that has more than doubled over the past 
        decade;
            (10) excessive oil and gasoline speculation is creating 
        major market disturbances that prevent the market from 
        accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand;
            (11) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has a 
        responsibility--
                    (A) to ensure that the price discovery for oil and 
                gasoline accurately reflects the fundamentals of supply 
                and demand; and
                    (B) to take immediate action to implement strong 
                and meaningful position limits to regulated exchange 
                markets to eliminate excessive oil speculation; and
            (12) record high gasoline prices place a heavy economic 
        burden on farmers, businesses, and families across the United 
        States.
    (b) Actions.--Not later than 14 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall use the 
authority of the Commission (including emergency powers)--
            (1) to curb immediately the role of excessive speculation 
        in any contract market within the jurisdiction and control of 
        the Commission, on or through which energy futures or swaps are 
        traded;
            (2) 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; and
            (3) to prioritize finalizing and enforcing a position 
        limits regime designed to diminish, eliminate, or prevent 
        excessive speculation in energy markets.
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