House approves bill that would reform, reauthorize CFTC

The House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday that was introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) to reauthorize and reform the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and protect customers from market failures.

The Customer Protection and End User Relief Act would also shield farmers and ranchers from increased regulatory costs resulting from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Lucas, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, introduced the bipartisan legislation after gathering input from market participants, end users, futures customers and the CFTC for more than a year.

“It is a responsible and balanced bill that improves the efficiency and accountability of the CFTC, ensures regulations are implemented in a sensible manner, maintains the integrity of the marketplace and guarantees our global competitiveness,” Lucas previously said.

The CFTC is tasked with preventing fraud and market abuse while ensuring transparent, open, competitive and fiscally sound commodity markets.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) said the legislation would protect farmers and ranchers from “runaway regulations.”

“This commonsense bill reauthorizes and improves the CFTC to make it more accountable for those who rely on the futures markets to protect against risk associated with their business,” Neugebauer said. “Farmers and ranchers in west Texas and the big country use the futures and commodities markets as a business tool to help manage the inherent risks that they face, and this bill will allow them to continue doing so without being burdened by the cumbersome regulations of a one-size-fits-all CFTC.”

Under the measure, the CFTC would have the resources to protect market participants and codify regulations that are already in use.