Mr. Chairman, if a chaplain is doing their job right, then all feel welcome. When I was in Iraq, I would go across and see everyone at night. I had many times those who profess no faith at all who would come to me and say, Chaplain, I…

I appreciate the gentleman yielding time. Mr. Chairman, this is an interesting amendment, especially for me, because I am currently a chaplain in the United States military. I appreciate the arguments that have been made here, but let's…

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Safe Climate Caucus, I want to urge my colleagues not to bury their heads in the sand. Wake up. Climate change is real, and it's already affecting the Earth in profound ways. The scientific consensus is…

the cost of energy is reflected in everything we purchase in this country.

Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

when we have two regulatory agencies essentially regulating the same field, that when they can't agree on what the definition of the word person is, then we are creating a situation where you may be in compliance with one regulatory agency…

the more we raise the cost to the end-user, and in my situation, I am talking about farmers in particular, you increase the cost to the grain farmer, the price, the cost is born by the person every time they buy a box of cereal.

It seems like it is becoming just an extraordinary concentration of power in one place, and we think that there may be great danger in that.

It has been since 2008 since CFTC has had reauthorization, budget appropriations.

I thought it was justified.

I do hope that you will continue to get the uniform definitions with the SEC and our overseas regulators as well.

I would hope that direct and significant is another term that you are able to get a uniform agreement with the SEC on.

If we can't even get to the agreement on what the definition of a U.S. person is, then how do we get to the definition of what a direct and significant impact on U.S. consumers is?

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring attention to the plight of Mahdi Abu Dheeb. Mahdi Abu Dheeb is the founder of the Bahrain Teachers Association and was arrested after taking part in pro- democracy protests in 2011. For this so-called crime, he…

It is important to note that the CFTC has gone from what was once sort of an obscure parochial regulatory body to now one of the most powerful governmental agencies in the world.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me start with you, Commissioner Wetjen. Do you have sufficient staff to accomplish the task that you all have been given?

I think it is very important that we make sure the record is clear that this agency needs the funding that we are asking them to do a job.

It is very important that you have the staffing, as I have reiterated in my line of questioning.