The House Agriculture Committee convened an early hearing looking at the implementation of Dodd-Frank’s derivatives section. This section, one of the most important aspects of the financial regulatory reform effort, deals with establishment a new regime of derivative regulation to force most trades onto third-party clearinghouses and to be traded on exchanges. The issue is jurisdictionally shared by different committees in both the House and Senate. This hearing established the Agriculture Committee’s interest in carrying out its oversight responsibilities and providing agricultural interests with an opportunity to bring their concerns on the bill to the Congress.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler was the sole witness on the first panel, making the first of what would be many appearances before Congress in the months ahead. He outlined what his agency would need, including 400 new employees to carry out the agency’s new mission.
A second panel provided testimony from agricultural and financial entities concerned that new regulations would possibly impose burdensome regulations.
