I oppose this legislation because it will roll back important financial regulations and interfere with the CFTC’s ability to do its work. I am very concerned that H.R. 2289 will open the door to the types of things that created the financial mess we’re just beginning to get ourselves out of.
Floor Statement of Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson
H.R. 2289 Commodity End-User Relief Act
--As Prepared for Delivery--
“I thank the gentleman/gentlelady. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
“I oppose this legislation because it will roll back important financial regulations and interfere with the CFTC’s ability to do its work. I am very concerned that H.R. 2289 will open the door to the types of things that created the financial mess we’re just beginning to get ourselves out of.
“Let me be clear, I don’t have an issue with many of the provisions relevant to end-user protections. Dodd-Frank states very clearly that end-users were not the problem and the CFTC has been very receptive to that fact.
“One of my biggest concerns is the bill’s new cost-benefit analysis. This is all cost and no benefit, unless you’re one of the nine big banks who, as far as I’m concerned, have not learned a thing from the financial crisis.
“This not only adds an unneeded layer of government bureaucracy, it opens the door to lawsuits from the major banks seeking to delay or completely derail CFTC rulemakings.
“I also have serious concerns with the trouble that will be caused by Section 314, the cross-border section of the bill.
“Chairman Massad has been negotiating extensively and in good faith with our European counterparts to harmonize their rules with ours. Now, I’ve talked with the Chairman a number of times about this, he has assured me, and it’s been independently verified, that they are 85 percent of the way to a deal. This provision will cut negotiators off at the knees.
“I am worried that this provision will take us back to what was happening prior to the financial crash. The big banks had just been playing us against each other, getting the United States to water down our rules by threatening to move their business elsewhere and vice versa.
“The cost-benefit requirement, along with cross-border rule, will cost $45 million over five years according to CBO. Again, this is all cost and no benefit.
“H.R. 2289 has a whole host of other problems. The bill unravels the transparency provided by Dodd-Frank, slows down CFTC staff ability to respond to industry concerns, mucks up the Commission’s ability to issue guidance if rules need updating or clarification, and re-litigates a disagreement between former Commissioners that has no place in this bill.
“This is a bad bill that can’t be fixed and should be defeated by the House. I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 2289 and I reserve the balance of my time.”
