Providing for Availability of Amounts for Customer Education Initiatives and Non-Awards Expenses of Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 409. I want to second what my colleague, the gentleman from California, has said about the importance of the CFTC Whistleblower Office and the Office of Customer Education and Outreach, and, of course, the employees who work in those offices.
These offices help the Commission meet its mission to promote integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets. I am proud to support today's legislation to avoid unnecessary disruptions to these activities and needless staff furloughs.
The work in these offices, particularly the Whistleblower Office, helps to root out violations of the law which harm individuals and undermine derivatives markets. Fraud and market manipulation can steal customer funds, distort prices, disrupt orderly trading and settlement, and sap confidence in the fairness of our markets. Whistleblowers are a critical source of information which helps the Commission protect the integrity of our commodity markets.
I also want to emphasize that today's legislation does not spend any new money or create any new programs. Rather, it sets aside existing funds to meet existing obligations. S. 409 ensures that funds to support the functioning of the whistleblower and customer education offices are temporarily prioritized over the funds to pay whistleblower awards in order to keep the offices fully functional. In the end, both obligations will be fully met as Congress intended.
As the ranking member of the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee, I feel a particular responsibility to make sure that the CFTC has the best tools at its disposal to meet its mission.
As we move forward in the coming months, I am looking forward to digging deeper into the work of the Commission and coming together to craft a responsible CFTC reauthorization bill which makes permanent improvements to the Whistleblower Office funding mechanism and meets the needs of the 21st century financial regulator.
I want to take a moment to thank Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Thompson for their willingness to involve the whole committee in this legislative effort. As a new member of the committee, I appreciated the opportunity to act as a body in support of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say simply that I am proud to support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support S. 409.
I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source