Bart Chilton Set a High Standard That Must Be Met by Future CFTC Commissioners
“For years, Commissioner Bart Chilton has been relentlessly focused on protecting commodity purchasers, producers, investors and the markets. His healthy skepticism of those pushing their narrow self-interest and talking their book has been a great service to the public interest. The American people are in debt to his tireless public service. Commissioner Chilton’s service, record and values set a high standard for anyone who follows him. That is the criteria the administration must use when considering who should be nominated to replace him on the CFTC,” said Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit organization that promotes the public interest in the financial markets.
“This is a critical time for the CFTC. It is severely under-funded, grossly under-staffed, technologically outgunned, and under constant attack by Wall Street, its unlimited resources, and its many allies. All of this poses a grave risk to the American people, who are still suffering from the economic calamity inflicted on them by Wall Street in 2008. The CFTC cannot fulfill its mission of protecting the American people from another derivatives-driven financial crash unless it has much more funding, staff and support,” Mr. Kelleher said.
“Making all this worse is the fact that the 5-member commission will soon have just two commissioners. That is intolerable and the administration must quickly nominate highly-qualified replacements and work to get them confirmed as soon as possible. However, nominees that lack real qualifications and experience or are predisposed to favor Wall Street over long-overdue reforms and the protection of investors and markets must be rejected. The CFTC under the leadership of Chairman Gensler, Commissioner Chilton and others have made great progress in bringing necessary common sense regulation to these dark markets. That progress and reform must continue and that is how future nominees must be evaluated,” concluded Mr. Kelleher.
###
Better Markets is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes the public interest in financial reform in the domestic and global capital and commodity markets. Better Markets advocates for transparency, oversight and accountability with the goal of a stronger, safer financial system that is less prone to crisis and failure thereby eliminating or minimizing the need for more taxpayer funded bailouts. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.com.
