House Passes Commodity End-User Relief Act

The House passed H.R. 238, the Commodity End-User Relief Act, by a vote of 239-182.
H.R. 238 is a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), make important regulatory reforms, and most importantly to make important statutory changes to protect end-users and give them access to the tools they need to manage their risks. This bill largely mirrors H.R. 2289 and H.R. 4413, bills to reauthorize the CFTC passed by the House in the 114th and 113th Congresses, respectively.

“I appreciate the support of my colleagues of this important bill that makes narrowly targeted changes to provide relief from regulatory burdens on American businesses. The Commodity End-User Relief Act offers meaningful improvements for market participants by providing the right relief to the right people,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway.

In remarks on the House Floor, Chairman Conaway, author of the bill, said, “End-users are the businesses that provide Americans with food, clothing, transportation, electricity, heat, and much more. Yet it is more difficult and more expensive today than it was for them to manage their risks five years ago. Some of these challenges are the result of ambiguities and oversights in the text of the Commodity Exchange Act and some of the result of overzealous rulemakings by the Commission itself.” Conaway’s full statement can be viewed here.

Included in the bill was an amendment sponsored by Conaway, which would clarify amendments made to the Commodity Exchange Act by Dodd-Frank and require the CFTC to determine that position limits will help reduce excessive speculation before it can implement them.

In remarks on the House Floor, Conaway said, “Position limits are tools that have merit and purpose in regulating commodity markets. It is important that the Commission affirmatively determines the needs for position limits, because limits are an unmistakable burden on market participants.” Conaway’s full statement can be viewed here.