Congressman Peterson statement on CFTC legislation

Opening Statement by Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson
Hearing to Review the 2015 Agenda for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission

--As Prepared for Delivery--

“Thank you Chairman Conaway. Good morning everyone and welcome Chairman Massad to the Agriculture Committee. This is the Chairman’s first appearance before the Committee but I’ve had the opportunity to meet with him and have been impressed by his commitment to implementing the new regulations called for under Dodd-Frank and being inclusive of all points of view throughout the process.

“The rulemaking process has maybe taken longer than some would like but, given the limited resources they’ve had to get these new rules in place, I think the CFTC has done a good job. I look forward to an update on the Commission’s continued rulemaking, I believe about 80 percent of the rules have been completed. I’ll also be interested in hearing from the Chairman on some of the market issues that have recently made headlines.

“As has been mentioned before, one of the Agriculture Committee’s top priorities for this year is to again pass legislation to reauthorize the CFTC. We passed a good, bipartisan bill last Congress that would protect farmers and ranchers who use the futures market to hedge against risk. I hope that we can build on that legislation and actually get something signed into law this year.

“With that, I thank the Chair and look forward to Chairman Massad’s testimony.”