| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 21, 2011 |
Committee Focuses on the Impact of Dodd-Frank
on Main Street Businesses
WASHINGTON – Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a public hearing to review the impact of derivatives reform on end users and smaller financial institutions. This hearing comes at a pivotal point in the implementation of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) moves from proposing rules to finalizing regulations.
Members of the Committee heard from a diverse group of witnesses representing community banks, public power companies, rural electric co-ops, and manufacturers who expressed concerns that the CFTC’s regulations may go too far, imposing unnecessary costs on their businesses. The witnesses expressed concerns that these costs would be passed on to their customers in the form of higher costs.
“Today’s witnesses confirmed our concerns that overreaching proposals will negatively impact the very businesses we’re relying on to create jobs. If a rural electric cooperative finds itself in the same regulatory category as Goldman Sachs, the CFTC simply doesn’t have it right. We need to bring some balance and common sense back to this process,“ said Chairman Frank Lucas.
Written testimony provided by the witnesses is linked below.
Witness List:
Panel I
The Honorable Gary Gensler, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Washington, D.C.
Panel II
The Honorable Glenn English, Chief Executive Officer, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Arlington, Virginia
Mr. Randy S. Howard, Director of Power System Planning and Development, Power System Executive Office, Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles, California
Mr. Neil M. Schloss, Vice President-Treasurer, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan
Ms. Denise B. Hall, Senior Vice President, Treasury Sales Manager, Webster Bank, Hartford, Connecticut
Mr. Sam Peterson, Senior Advisor, Derivatives Regulatory Advisory Services, Chatham Financial, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
Mr. David Fraley, President, Fraley and Company, Inc., Cortez, Colorado
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Agriculture Committee Press Office
http://agriculture.house.gov