House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway sent a letter to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Timothy Massad requesting he not move forward on any controversial regulations during the final months of President Obama’s administration.
In the letter, he asked Massad to refrain from “pushing through controversial regulations,”; adding, “While we may not agree on which regulations are overreaching or unnecessary, we should agree that the American people have asked for someone else to make that judgement.”
“President Obama told the public that he was looking forward to doing everything he could to make sure the next administration is successful. That must include preserving difficult and controversial rulemakings for the next Chairman of the CFTC to complete. Failing to extend this courtesy to your successor likely will not settle the underlying policy questions. Instead, it will serve only to create needless compliance burdens for market intermediaries and sow confusion for end-users who depend on derivatives to manage their business risks,” Conaway wrote.
Conaway specifically requested the commission not move forward on the controversial position limits rule making and to extend the comment period for Regulation Automated Trader (Reg AT), noting that further work and consideration is needed for each proposal.
Chairman Conaway concluded by thanking Chairman Massad for his service, writing, “Your forthright nature and willingness to listen served the Commission and our country well. Your leadership stabilized an agency reeling from previous mismanagement and your personal engagement provided a needed opportunity for end-users to be heard in the rulemaking process.”
The letter can be viewed here.