Saxby Chambliss: “I rise to speak about a bill that I am introducing today which is an amendment to the Commodity Exchange Act and it is…”

“I rise to speak about a bill that I am introducing today which is an amendment to the Commodity Exchange Act and it is entitled the End-User Protection Act. During the debate on Dodd-Frank a couple years ago, a constant concern for me and others in this Chamber was how best to protect end users, the individuals and businesses that use futures markets both to purchase commodities and use derivatives to hedge their risk. The legislation that ultimately passed was not what I had desired, but it did specify that end users should not be treated the same as banks, and in many instances should not be subject to the same registration and margin requirements as other market participants. But that simply has not been the case as the CFTC has gone through the rulemaking process. I have seen many instances where the Commission in its zeal to finalize rules has not given due consideration to those farmers, ranchers, and other end users who depend on our futures markets to hedge their risks. Time and again end users brought their concerns to the Commission, and the end-user exemption I helped to author was not honored. In other instances Dodd-Frank created unintended consequences that must be fixed. It is for these reasons that I am introducing the End-User Protection Act.…”