Congresswoman Sutton Speaks in Support of the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act

"Since this bill was last on the House Floor in July, the American people and our economy continue to struggle with high food and energy prices and a weak job market. From the subprime mortgage crisis and the financial meltdown, to the unethical behavior at the Mineral Management Service, the necessary and proper oversight has clearly not been taking place.

In some cases, laws may have been broken. And as a result, homes have been taken through foreclosure. Savings have been lost. Dreams of the American people in many cases have been shattered. We are fighting to stop the pain the American people are feeling, to restore their trust in government and revitalize our communities. We must take action and we must take action now. For many years now, too many Americans have felt that their government is working not with them, but against them.

But this Democratic Congress is working to take our nation in a new direction. On Tuesday we passed a comprehensive energy bill that will lower gas prices for American families, invest in renewable and alternative energy and responsibly expand exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf.

Oil speculators continue to enjoy free range at the expense of our pocketbooks. And that is unacceptable. We have all seen the recent headlines and reports identifying that oil speculators are out of control.

One of the newspapers serving my Congressional District, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, printed an article last Thursday on this very issue. The headline read: "More scrutiny of oil speculators; Evidence shows they operated in `dark markets' to hike prices." The article goes on to state that "unregulated markets account for about two-thirds of oil trading on financial markets and they can be used to manipulate oil prices."

As I said earlier, the American people simply want a government that works for them, instead of against them. Today, we will pass the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act so that our commodity markets will, once again, work the way they were intended to work.

Our bill provides the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, with new resources to improve enforcement, prevent manipulation and prosecute fraud. It provides with CFTC with the authority and direction to address excessive speculation, which has undermined the basic principle of supply and demand. It has officially inflated the price of oil and in the process hurting families in Ohio and all across this great nation.

This bill will work for the people instead of for those who look to exploit loopholes and seek to manipulate the market. We know that Wall Street has often found exotic ways to create their own markets and with this bill will fix the London Loophole.

And why is that important? The London Loophole currently allows traders to circumvent U.S. laws and trading rules by working through foreign boards of trade.

This bill requires foreign boards of trade that offer electronic access to U.S. traders to adopt similar speculative limits and regulations. The foreign boards of trade will also now be required to share large trader reporting data with the CFTC.

Additionally, H.R. 6604 requires that the CFTC set standards for all energy and agricultural futures markets. This is critically important as it will limit traders' ability to distort the market.

Our bill will also require the CFTC to have a complete picture now of the swaps markets. Index traders and swap dealers will be subject to strict reporting and record keeping requirements. And lastly, under this bill, position reporting will become mandatory for over-the-counter trading in agricultural and energy contracts.

Now some of what I've said sounds very technical and it may be a little bit difficult to understand because of that technicality. But to put it simply, our efforts will add the necessary oversight and transparency to shed light onto the "dark markets." With the recent revelations on Wall Street and the run up on oil prices under the Bush Administration's failed energy policies, these changes are long overdue.

But there are some who may not want us to make the changes in our market system so that we can bring relief to the American people. There are some who may try to say that we are adding too much regulation. But the recent collapse of certain financial giants has only further illustrated the great need to revisit these issues and ensure that the voices of the people are being heard and that they are being protected.

There are some who may try to say that we are restricting the ability of hedgers - those who trade in futures - to offset their price risk. But they are misinformed. This bill provides exemptions for bona-fide hedgers. They are the ones the commodity markets were designed to work with. But we know that unscrupulous speculators can interfere with the ability of producers and processors who use these markets for legitimate purposes.

On Tuesday, as speculators dumped oil for cash, oil closed at just over $91 a barrel, a nearly 38% drop since the record high of $147 in July. But just yesterday, oil prices shot up $6 a barrel as "fears of a spreading crisis in the U.S. financial sector sent skittish investors scrambling out of stocks," according to the AP.

Our commodities should not be treated as a speculator's safety net. We cannot allow speculators to continue to drive prices of our commodities beyond the normal ebb and flow of supply and demand.

Families in my District and all across our great country want common sense policies that will work for them instead of rewarding a select few.

This is the new direction that the American people have called for; one that puts the voices of the people ahead of the special interests. And I hope that all our colleagues will join us in taking this step today to pass this bill that as I mentioned has already passed with a bipartisan majority in July but not with the two thirds majority that was necessary under suspension. But we can get it done. The Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act will increase oversight and transparency and will prevent oil prices from being artificially inflated.

I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 1449 and this incredibly important underlying legislation.