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| For Immediate Release: January 25, 2012
Opening Statement by Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson
Business Meeting to Consider H.R. 1840, H.R. 2682, H.R. 2779, H.R. 2586, H.R. 2779, H.R. 2586, H.R. 3336 and H.R. 3527–As Prepared for Delivery–
“Today, as the Committee marks-up these various bills, I want to reiterate my view that it is premature to move on legislation until we see the final rules. Looking at the Dodd-Frank rules that have already been finalized by the CFTC, I believe it is safe to say that, so far, the CFTC has done a pretty good job. “For example, during a legislative hearing last year, we heard concerns about business conduct standards and the potential impact they could have on pension plans’ ability to use swaps to hedge risk. Earlier this month, the Commission approved a bipartisan final rule establishing business conduct standards. The general feeling I get from the pension plans is that the CFTC got the final rule right. “I talk frequently with Chairman Gensler and from what he has told me, I am confident that much of what we are considering today is not necessary. The CFTC is going to get this right. To date, most of the final rules coming out of the Commission have bipartisan support and are addressing the concerns that stakeholders have expressed to both us and the Commission. “I know the CFTC’s steady progress is driving the Republican Congressional leadership crazy. It is hard to peddle fear of agency overreach when the agency acts responsibly and truly listens when putting together a final product. It is a shame that we are focusing so much attention on problems that MAY happen instead of the problems that HAVE happened like the thousands of customers still waiting for their money from MF Global. Unfortunately in this town, people are often more interested in scoring political points than actually trying to solve real and present problems. “I understand and support the Chairman in bringing three of the bills we are considering before the Committee today, even if I may not support them on their merits. The House Financial Services Committee has already acted upon them, and the Chairman’s leadership has only given the Committee until February 1st to act or else be discharged. Although I think it is premature to consider these three bills based on their content, the members of this Committee should have the right to lend their voices – pro or con – before the Republican leadership takes them away from us. “Two of these bills have not been acted upon by other Committees, and I believe we could wait to see the CFTC’s final rules. The fact that the CFTC may consider the swap dealer definition in the coming weeks could give us great insight as to whether provisions in both bills are necessary. But, as I well know, being Chairman has its privileges and one of them is setting the Committee’s agenda. So, here we are. “The sad part of this exercise is that we may find out later it wasn’t even necessary. What is potentially even sadder is that even if we do find that any of these bills ARE necessary, they have no future. The majority of Senate Republicans and their leadership have dedicated themselves to the repeal of Dodd-Frank. Even if the CFTC gets something wrong and we try to fix it, the Senate Republicans will filibuster any correction unless they get to add some poison pill amendment that guts the heart of law. Senate Republicans are not interested in making the law work better; they just want to kill it. “With that Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your yielding me time and I yield back.” |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2012 |
Ag Committee Advances Legislation
to Bring Balance to Financial Regulatory Reform
WASHINGTON – Today, the House Agriculture Committee advanced by voice vote six bills that amend Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The legislation is the culmination of the committee’s oversight efforts of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as it writes rules for Dodd-Frank. In the past year, the committee has held seven hearings on Title VII that have included testimony from market participants. They have shared consistent concerns that the CFTC is overreaching in its rulemaking and it will have a negative impact on businesses and on the economy.
“I appreciate the bipartisan leadership of my colleagues on the bills that advanced today. Our effort is to ensure that America’s job creators – our farmers, ranchers, small businesses, community banks, energy companies and manufacturers – are not overburdened by financial regulations. Without these important changes, regulations could deter businesses from hedging against risk. That increases costs for consumers and reduces stability in the market place, which is contrary to the intent of the original Dodd-Frank legislation,” said Chairman Frank Lucas.
All of the bills considered are listed below:
H.R. 1840 would require the CFTC to assess the costs and benefits of proposed actions.
H.R. 3336, the Small Business Credit Availability Act, ensures banks and farm credit institutions can continue providing interest rate swaps for customer loans without being classified as swap dealers.
H.R. 2682, the Business Risk Mitigation and Stabilization Act, ensures that end users can continue to use derivatives to manage business risks without being subject to costly margin requirements.
H.R. 2779 provides clarification that inter-affiliate transactions, when the parties to the transaction are under common control, are not to be regulated as swaps.
H.R. 3527, Protecting Main Street End-Users from Excessive Regulation, clarifies the definition of swap dealer to ensure energy and agriculture end-users are not misclassified and subject to costly new regulatory requirements.
H.R. 2586, the Swap Execution Facility (SEF) Clarification Act, prohibits the regulators from requiring a minimum number of participants to receive or respond to quote requests. It also prohibits regulators from limiting the means of interstate commerce that market participants can use to execute swaps and prohibits the agencies from requiring a SEF to delay quotes for any specific period of time.
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2012 |
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Obama’s Regulations No Laughing Matter
for America’s Farmers and Ranchers
WASHINGTON – In his State of the Union Address last night, President Obama addressed criticisms of over-regulation by his administration. He claimed success for exempting dairy farmers from an Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) program mandate that would have regulated milk the same way as oil:
“We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill – because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk.”
The truth is that the Obama administration actually withdrew the Bush administration’s proposal to exempt dairy farmers from oil spill regulations, and then delayed their decision on this exemption for nearly two years.
In contrast, House Republicans responded to dairy farmers’ concerns and introduced legislation to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize the dairy exemption.
Meanwhile, the president made no mention of other equally preposterous regulations that our farmers and ranchers still face.
The president claims that he’s working to reduce unnecessary regulations, but only the House has actually taken action.
Until the Senate takes up H.R. 872, businesses across the country are facing a redundant permitting requirement for the use of already-regulated pesticides. The Senate is also delaying action on H.R. 1633, which ensures that the EPA does not maintain the authority to regulate rural dust.
If the President is serious about eliminating regulations, it’s time to act.