Gary Gensler

We're not trying to do this against a clock--I know when I first said that, people didn't believe me--but here we are almost 2 years, and we're maybe halfway through the final rules.

So, in 2012, CFTC will finish implementing the Dodd-Frank Act rules.

It's about helping producers, merchants, farmers, and commercial companies in your States to use these futures and swaps.

We cannot afford to ignore our country's fiscal reality by failing to make difficult decisions to address our debt and deficit problem.

I think that's part of the reason why we want a well-funded CFTC because the nature of the market is so heavily toward the financial actors and so heavily toward the speculators.

I think prior Presidents of both parties have raised it. I would support whatever this Committee and Congress thought would help ensure that we have the adequate resources.

A unilateral approach is a path to fragmentation and inefficiency. We need more international cooperation in all of these areas.

The non-financial side of our economy provides 94 percent of private sector jobs.

Derivatives markets are critical for farmers, ranchers, producers, and other end-users in the real economy.

We are completing rules in a thoughtful, balanced way to get them right, not against the clock.

I believe that is critical--but they are not doing proprietary trading.

We are monitoring the events in Europe, but mostly through our conversations with other regulators at the FSOC.

We do not examine any of them.

But audits are required once a year of the financials.

The system has to work for the farmers and ranchers and energy companies and all of the people that need to lock in a price.

That is the current rules.

I think this is a good investment for the American public.

I think that probably we need more transparency where these Futures Commission Merchants have to tell their customers where they are putting the money.

Let me ensure you that I think all of us at the CFTC are focused on exactly that.

I think we have to tighten up something about use of money.

Three years ago, both the financial system and the financial regulatory system failed, and as the Chairwoman said, more than eight million Americans still have lost their jobs and many Americans are struggling.

What we are doing at our agency is turning over every rock in every corner as to our rules and what we can do better.

I think it is important that customers have confidence, and the farmers and ranchers and the energy companies, they just have to have confidence that their funds are not only segregated, but they are theirs.

I do think it is important that we move forward on the rule that we are considering next Monday on the investment of customer funds.

We take the cost-benefit considerations very importantly.