Committee Statement

 

The Honorable Frank D. Lucas

Ranking Member, House Committee on Agriculture

 

RE: Agriculture Committee markup of H.R. 977

 

February 12, 2009

Thank you.

As you know Chairman Peterson, this committee has been committed to the process of monitoring the issue of trading activity in the futures markets, as well as exploring the role credit default swaps have played in our current financial crisis. The efforts of this committee have culminated in legislation that hopefully will address our concerns for greater transparency and accountability while at the same time will respect the nature of the marketplace.

I believe H.R. 977 is an improved bill from the original draft legislation. Some of the issues which were troublesome have been resolved. However, there are still major outstanding issues with respect to this bill. And, we hope to resolve those issues with the amendment process today.

No one can argue with the concepts of transparency and accountability, but we must make sure that we create responsible legislation that calls for an appropriate level of regulation while at the same encourages product innovation and economic growth.

I appreciate Chairman Peterson’s willingness to work with us on this bill. We have not agreed on everything, but we have made real progress with some of our differences. We’ll be addressing the other outstanding issues as we proceed today.

 

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