Durbin and Harkin Announce Joint Hearing to Strengthen CFTC

Press Release

United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry, today announced their plans to hold a joint hearing next week to strengthen the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the agency charged with regulating oil markets.

"It's time to open the books on the oil futures market," Durbin said. "The agency in charge of regulating oil markets is currently blocked from accessing critical information on trades made on foreign exchanges or on over-the-counter trades. We can't expect the CFTC to properly monitor the market and keep gas prices stable if they don't have the information they need. Congress needs to give CFTC the authority to monitor these trades closely and the staff and IT systems to get the job done."

Over the last seven years, trading in commodity markets has exploded from nearly 500 million trades in 2000 to over 3 billion trades in 2007. CFTC's staffing levels however have not kept pace. Full-time employee (FTE) levels have dropped over that same period of time from 546 in 2000 to 437 last year - nearly a 21 percent decline.

In addition to declining staff levels, despite monumental growth in the market, the agency's budget has not kept pace with the agency's needs. The President has requested a 17 percent budget increase for CFTC, bringing its budget to $130 million in fiscal year 2009. Despite the increase, CFTC still doesn't have the funds to add the desperately needed staff members or make the needed IT upgrades.

Durbin is the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government - the subcommittee responsible for overseeing the budget of the CFTC. Last month, Durbin chaired a hearing on the budget request for the CFTC.

Last week, at a hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, the agency charged with oversight of the agency, CFTC officials testified that additional resources, including more staff, are needed to help this agency carry out this mission.

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