[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9399-9400]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CFTC NOMINATIONS

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I thank our leader Senator Durbin for 
speaking on a number of subjects that actually all add up to the fact 
that we believe every American ought to have a fair shot to make it, 
whether it is jobs in a new clean energy economy. When I think about 
the fact that we will not have a middle class, we will not have an 
economy unless we make things and grow things--and that is what we do 
in Michigan. I think about our new clean energy opportunities. There 
are 8,000 parts in a big wind turbine, and somebody has to make those 
parts. We can make those in Michigan. So when we talk about doing the 
right things so we can breathe the air and drink the water, it is also 
about creating new opportunities for good-paying jobs for people, and 
it is about making sure our economy works for everybody and that 
everybody has a fair shot. That is the best of America.
  We have before us in the Senate three nominations for the Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission, and we will be voting on one of them in a 
few hours. They came out of the Agriculture Committee, which I am 
honored to chair, so I wish to speak about them for a moment.
  This independent agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is 
entrusted with the important mission of protecting investors in the 
derivatives market from fraud, manipulation, and other abuses. That 
means farmers and ranchers. It means consumers. It means businesses, 
large and small. It means a way to create capital so it can be invested 
in new jobs.
  The oversight of this agency is incredibly important. Given this 
responsibility, it is imperative that we select Commissioners who have 
demonstrated not only expertise in global financial markets but the 
integrity and the judgment necessary to lead the implementation reforms 
contained in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. This is a five-member 
Commission. Due to some changes and folks moving on in their careers, 
we have two members right now, one Democratic and one Republican. So we 
have a responsibility of now filling all five. We will have in front of 
us this week, at some point throughout the week, all three of the folks 
who came out of our committee.
  We have three nominees before us who I think fit the requirement of 
having expertise, integrity, and judgment. The first is Republican 
nominee J. Christopher Giancarlo, and then we have two Democratic 
nominees, Tim Massad, who has been nominated to Chair the CFTC, and 
Sharon Bowen. All three are highly qualified nominees who were approved 
by the agriculture committee on a voice vote. Right now I will focus on 
Ms. Bowen, whom we will be voting on in just a little bit.
  Within the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reforms, individual agencies were 
directed to establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. This 
action was taken to address the lack of diversity of qualified men and 
women in Federal agencies involved in financial regulation but also 
subcontractors and contractors who receive billions of dollars from the 
government.
  The CFTC itself should lead by example when it comes to diversity as 
well as expertise. So I am especially pleased President Obama selected 
Sharon Bowen as a nominee for the Commission. She will be the first 
African-American woman to serve on the CFTC and will be the only woman 
serving at this point in time on the five-member Commission. She has 
the expertise and experience to be an excellent Commissioner.
  During her testimony before the Agriculture Committee, Ms. Bowen told 
of her upbringing as the youngest of five children in the small town of 
St. Julien's Creek in Virginia. During Ms. Bowen's youth, St. Julien's 
Creek was a segregated town, and her family had modest means, but these 
challenges forged her character. Ms. Bowen developed a knack for 
understanding the perspective of people who have a stake in public 
policy decisions but no voice in how those decisions are made.
  This background has served her well throughout her years as an 
attorney. As a partner in the New York firm of Latham & Watkins, Ms. 
Bowen represented clients in a range of complex

[[Page 9400]]

financial transactions. So her knowledge of derivatives and global 
markets is based on real-world experience.
  She has been selected by one publication as one of America's top 
Black lawyers and chosen as the Lawyer of the Year by the Metropolitan 
Black Bar Association.
  Recognizing Ms. Bowen's talents, President Obama nominated her to be 
vice chair, then acting chair of the Securities Investor Protection 
Corporation, a very important nonprofit which helps protect investors 
whose brokers have failed them. Ms. Bowen was confirmed by the Senate, 
at that time, unanimously, and I certainly hope that will happen again.
  Sharon Bowen has worked tirelessly to fulfill what are called SIPC's 
mandates--the Securities Investor Protection Corporation--helping 
thousands of small investors faced with the failure of their brokerage 
firms. During Ms. Bowen's tenure on the board, SIPC has returned $24.5 
billion to over 9,000 investors.
  Despite all her accomplishments through the years, it was evident 
from Ms. Bowen's testimony in the agriculture committee that she 
remains grounded by a sensibility for how markets have effects far 
beyond investors. They affect each of us. They affect consumers, 
farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and others who create jobs.
  She recognizes the urgency of protecting these individuals from 
excessive speculation and manipulation. She told our committee:

       I understand the importance of being the voice of the 
     under-represented and small business owners who have not had 
     a seat at the table, as I do today.

  The CFTC needs a Commissioner of Ms. Bowen's background and skill 
set. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting Ms. Bowen's 
nomination and to quickly move forward with the nominations of Mr. 
Giancarlo and Mr. Massad, whom I will be speaking about more as their 
nominations come before us, so they can get to work protecting 
investors and every American who is vulnerable to abuses in the futures 
and swaps markets.
  We need those markets to work, to create capital, and also to manage 
risk for those who are using the markets in order to be able to manage 
their own risk, and we need a full five-member CFTC of competent, 
qualified people in order to get that done. That is what we are doing 
today with the vote, and then, as we move forward this week, hopefully 
by the end of the week we will have the full complement of the CFTC in 
place.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I would suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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