Senate committee approves authorization for U.S. commodities regulator

[Lodestar]

Source: Reuters

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday approved a reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, nearly three years after the legislative authority for the country's commodities and swaps regulator expired.

The head of the CFTC, Timothy Massad, praised the committee for clearing the way for the full Senate to vote on authorization.

"I am committed to continuing to work with Congress throughout this process, particularly on making sure end-users like agricultural producers can continue to safely and affordably use the derivatives markets, while ensuring these markets do not generate excessive risk to our financial system," he said in a statement.

The CFTC has operated on year-by-year funding since the end of 2013 because Congress has not passed a new authorization, which lawmakers say created uncertainty in many markets. The House of Representatives has already approved a similar bill.

Republicans, who control the Senate, said the bill would allow farmers, ranchers and small energy providers to use derivatives for hedging operational costs without being ensnared in regulation intended to prevent the risky type of swap deals that contributed to the financial crisis.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-cftc-authorization-idUSKCN0XB2OZ

[bemildred]

1. Right, big corporations won't use this.

And pigs will fly.