House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee hearing, “The Upcoming Agenda for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission:”

[As Prepared for Delivery]

“Good morning and thank you, Chairman Giancarlo, for joining us today.

“As the country continues to recover from the financial crisis that began to take hold of our economy almost ten years ago, we all know the need for sound oversight and regulation of our derivative markets. It’s in our collective interest to see these markets function as intended, and that end-users and consumers are protected against the bad actors we all know are out there.

“I am looking forward to your update on the work of the Commission in your year in charge, specifically with regard to the final stages of implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and your efforts to turn the Commission’s focus to the future.

“In that spirit, I hope that you will address some evolving issues of concern, including the transition away from the LIBOR benchmark, and update us on any progress the Commission has made on the regulation of automated trading.

“Finally, as you all know, the Committee took a look last week at cryptocurrencies. Clearly there are more questions than answers when it comes to this new technology, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on where our oversight of CFTC may need to go in the era of bitcoin and other digital assets.

“Thank you again for joining us and I look forward to your testimony.”