Senate Agriculture Committee Holds First Hearing on Commodity Futures Trading Commission Reauthorization

On July 17, 2013, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee held the first of a series of hearings on the reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The CFTC is the agency responsible for regulating commodity markets. Small businesses, global firms, and farmers and ranchers use these markets for trade in traditional and non-traditional agricultural commodities. The Senate Ag Committee is holding hearings on the CFTC in order to revisit the laws controlling the CFTC and consider updates in hopes of ensuring that “markets are operating as intended and that market users... are protected from fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices.”

The House Agriculture Committee held their first hearing on the reauthorization of the CFTC on May 21, 2013.

Reauthorization is the process used to update the CFTC’s authorities and recommended spending levels. The CFTC’s statutory authorization expires at the end of the fiscal year. The last reauthorization took place in 2008.

For further information and the input offered by stakeholders on how to improve current laws, please visit the Senate Ag Committee’s websites on the hearing and the CFTC Reauthorization.

Written by Sarah Doyle - Research Assistant

The Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center

@PSUAgLawCenter

July, 22, 2013