[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 91 (Tuesday, June 9, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H3950-H3952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMODITY END-USER RELIEF ACT
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 288 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the state of the Union for the further consideration of the bill,
H.R. 2289.
Will the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) kindly resume the chair.
{time} 1630
In the Committee of the Whole
Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole
[[Page H3951]]
House on the state of the Union for the further consideration of the
bill (H.R. 2289) to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, to better protect futures customers, to provide end-users
with market certainty, to make basic reforms to ensure transparency and
accountability at the Commission, to help farmers, ranchers, and end-
users manage risks, to help keep consumer costs low, and for other
purposes, with Mr. Simpson in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIR. When the Committee of the Whole House rose earlier today,
amendment No. 5 printed in House Report 114-136 offered by the
gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Walorski) had been disposed of.
Amendment No. 2 Offered by Ms. Plaskett
The CHAIR. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, it is now in
order to consider amendment No. 2 printed in House Report 114-136.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment as the designee of
the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego).
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Page 13, after line 6, insert the following:
(c) Sense of the Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress
that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should take all
appropriate actions to encourage applications for positions
in the Office of the Chief Economist from members of minority
groups, women, disabled persons, and veterans.
The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 288, the gentlewoman from the
Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is very straightforward.
It simply urges the CFTC Office of the Chief Economist to encourage
applicants for employment by members of minority groups, women,
disabled persons, and veterans.
This is a basic standard that I believe every corporation and Federal
agency in America should and is willing to strive to meet. Our
government is stronger when its workforce reflects the rich diversity
of the American people, and this is especially true when it comes to
our financial regulatory agencies.
In the years preceding the financial crash, CFTC and the SEC fell
down on the job. Their failures helped set the stage for the crushing
recession that followed, an economic downturn that disproportionately
impacted communities of color.
In the wake of this crisis, Dodd-Frank wisely established the Offices
of Minority and Women Inclusion to promote diversity at the Nation's
financial regulators and to ensure that the interests of women and
minorities would be protected by these agencies.
I was pleased when, earlier this month, six regulatory bodies came
together to announce the creation of joint standards for assessing the
diversity practices of the financial institutions they oversee.
Though long overdue, this is a critical step forward that will help
to promote a more inclusive financial industry. While CFTC did not
participate in crafting these standards, I hope that by passing this
amendment today we can send a clear message that Congress expects the
agency to demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion
moving forward.
Mr. Chairman, this amendment is narrowly crafted, but it promotes a
far-reaching goal, advancing the fundamentally American principles of
equal opportunity for all.
I urge all Members to support this amendment, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, but I am
not opposed to the amendment.
The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas is recognized
for 5 minutes.
There was no objection.
Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Chairman, I am not opposed to the amendment, as I
said. The CFTC in fact does have an office of diversity and inclusion
and has three people employed there to work at this very important
issue.
I would like to put in the Record a statement from Chairman Massad.
He says:
Our greatest resource is our employees, and each of us
plays a role in ensuring that we recognize the benefits of
the differences and the diversity that we bring to our
environment.
The protections provided by the Equal Opportunity Act
extend to everything we do at the agency, be it recruitment,
hiring, appraisal systems, promotions, training and career
development programs, or any other actions . . . All persons
should be afforded equal employment opportunities at the
Commission in an environment in which they can do their best.
I urge support of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett).
The amendment was agreed to.
Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Takai
The CHAIR. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, it is now in
order to consider amendment No. 3 printed in House Report 114-136.
Mr. TAKAI. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Page 15, line 4, strike ``and''.
Page 15, line 7, strike the period and insert ``; and''.
Page 15, after line 7, insert the following:
``(iii) include a summary of any plan of action and
milestones to address any known information security
vulnerability, as identified pursuant to a widely accepted
industry or Government standard, including--
``(I) specific information about the industry or Government
standard used to identify the known information security
vulnerability;
``(II) a detailed time line with specific deadlines for
addressing the known information security vulnerability; and
``(III) an update of any such time line and the rationale
for any deviation from the time line.''.
The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 288, the gentleman from
Hawaii (Mr. Takai) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Hawaii.
Mr. TAKAI. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
My amendment is simple and would help to address cyber
vulnerabilities for stored government information at the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission.
As the bill is currently written, section 206 would require the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission to come up with a 5-year plan on
technology acquisition. My amendment would add reporting requirements
to Congress on plans of actions and milestones for any known
information security vulnerability.
My amendment would include a detailed timeline with specific
deadlines for addressing the known threats to make sure we get any
threat dealt with and solved in a reasonable amount of time.
Mr. Chairman, we have seen recently that cybersecurity is a serious
threat to our security, where just last week the personal information
of over 4 million Federal employees was compromised. This was one of
the largest known cyber attacks on Federal networks in our history and
only further underscores the necessity of this amendment.
As we know, this threat is very real. Networks are being attacked
constantly by a variety of different actors and for different reasons.
For example, there is evidence that our financial institutions have
been targeted, and other actors are out to steal one of the best
drivers that we have of our economic growth: intellectual property.
Cybersecurity is a problem that the entire government needs to
address. The CFTC will be storing very sensitive information, and they
should have a plan to place privacy safeguards on this information when
storing government data.
If we are going to discuss budgeting for technology acquisition, we
should also be discussing looking at information security
vulnerabilities, a plan to address them, and have reporting
requirements along the way.
This amendment is common sense, and I urge my colleagues to support
its adoption.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from Hawaii (Mr. Takai).
[[Page H3952]]
The amendment was agreed to.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment in the nature of the
substitute, as amended.
The amendment was agreed to.
The CHAIR. Under the rule, the Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Smith of Nebraska) having assumed the chair, Mr. Simpson, Chair of the
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2289) to
reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to better protect
futures customers, to provide end-users with market certainty, to make
basic reforms to ensure transparency and accountability at the
Commission, to help farmers, ranchers, and end-users manage risks, to
help keep consumer costs low, and for other purposes, and, pursuant to
House Resolution 288, he reported the bill back to the House with an
amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment to the amendment
reported from the Committee of the Whole? If not, the question is on
the amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended.
The amendment was agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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