WASHINGTON, DC -The House Agriculture Committee today approved H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-User Relief Act, introduced by Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11), Rep. Austin Scott (GA-8), and Rep. David Scott (GA-13).  This bipartisan legislation will reauthorize and improve the operations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as well as ensure robust markets, consumer protections, and a balanced approach to regulations impacting job creators.

“I believe my colleagues and I came away with a bill that addresses the regulatory challenges facing end-users and derivatives market participants.  As Chairman of the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee, my focus has always been to provide relief to end-users like our farmers, ranchers, utilities, and manufacturers while achieving a balance between market integrity and market access.  The diverse perspectives we heard from the Commission, market participants, and end-users were instrumental in drafting this legislation, and I am proud of the bipartisan solution we have achieved,” said Congressman Austin Scott, Chairman of the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee.

In addition to supporting the reauthorization, Rep. Austin Scott offered an amendment to narrow a swap execution facility’s (SEF) monitoring responsibility to swaps trading only on its own facility and replace the requirement that a SEF hold funds to cover its operating costs for 1 year with a requirement that it holds funds to conduct an orderly wind-down of its operations.  The amendment also provides flexibility for SEF chief compliance officers and procedures for SEF annual reports to the CFTC.  Rep. Austin Scott’s amendment was adopted and included in the final text of the legislation.

The text of the bill can be found here. A summary of the legislation can be found here. Other information on today’s markup can be found here.

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