[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 8971-8972]
[From the U.S. 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 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.

[[Page 8972]]

  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).
  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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