[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 93 (Thursday, June 11, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     COMMODITY END-USER RELIEF ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. AUSTIN SCOTT

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union 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:

  Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-User Relief Act.
  I firmly believe this legislation represents the kind of thoughtful 
and bipartisan approach to policy-making that is often lacking in 
Washington.
  It represents simple good governance by reauthorizing the Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission, which has been operating without 
authorization since 2013.
  The bill includes needed reforms to clarify Congressional intent, 
minimize regulatory burdens, and most importantly, preserve the ability 
of necessary risk management markets to serve those who need them.
  The Agriculture Committee, specifically the Subcommittee on Commodity 
Exchanges, Energy, and Credit of which I serve as Chairman, heard 
diverse perspectives from end-users, market participants, and 
regulators through many hours of testimony on this reauthorization 
earlier this year.
  That testimony, coupled with testimony from numerous other hearings 
at the subcommittee and full committee level over the course of the 
last two Congresses, was instrumental in drafting the legislation 
before us today.
  Time and again, we have heard how end-users, who were not the cause 
of the financial crisis, have been the collateral damage of Dodd-
Frank's reforms. These end-users are our farmers, ranchers, 
manufacturers, and electric and gas utilities, and they rely on the 
derivatives markets to manage their risk, and, thereby keep consumer 
costs low.
  The cost of unnecessary regulatory burdens on these end-users, and 
the uncertainty these regulations cause, will ultimately be borne by 
American citizens in my district and in districts around the country. 
Therefore, it is essential that we provide them with much-needed relief 
and clarity.
  This legislation includes several such end-user relief provisions. It 
requires the Commission to vote to change the current threshold for the 
swap dealer de minimis exception, rather than the automatic and 
arbitrary reduction slated to occur in December 2017.
  It also preserves end users' ability to hedge against anticipated 
business risks under the definition of a bona fide hedge transaction, 
provides common sense record-keeping relief for grain elevators, 
farmers, and other commercial market participants, and clarifies the 
exclusion of contracts with volumetric optionality from the definition 
of a swap.
  Additionally, this legislation codifies several new regulatory 
customer protections, borne out of lessons learned from the Peregrine 
Financial and MF Global failures.
  Finally, it makes important reforms to the Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission, including the creation of a new Office of the Chief 
Economist and a more stringent requirement for cost benefit analysis of 
proposed rules.
  With this legislation, we have the opportunity to ease the regulatory 
burden on those who use the derivatives markets, not to speculate, but 
to hedge risk. Ultimately, this bill is about protecting the American 
producer and the American consumer.
  I want to close by thanking Chairman Conaway for his strong 
leadership on the House Committee on Agriculture. His thoughtful and 
bipartisan approach to policy-making is reflected in the legislation 
before us today.
  Additionally, I want to thank the Ranking Member on the Commodity 
Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee and my colleague from 
Georgia, Mr. David Scott, who has been a steady partner throughout this 
effort.
  We have worked diligently to produce legislation that provides needed 
reforms to ensure our regulatory framework protects the integrity of 
our markets while not limiting the ability of end users to access these 
tools to conduct their business.
  I am proud to support H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-User Relief Act, 
and urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this legislation.

                          ____________________