Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008

Press Release

COMMODITY MARKETS TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 18, 2008)

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of Chairman Peterson's bill, which is a logical follow-on to Tuesday's energy bill that had two goals: number one, to bring immediate relief to consumers; and, two, to bring long-term solutions to America's energy challenges. This bill will go a long way to bring accountability to the price of a critical commodity, oil, which is the lifeblood of our economy.

The facts are clear, before energy commodities trading was exempted from CFTC oversight, about 70 percent of the energy futures trading was done by energy companies, 30 percent was done by speculators. Today those numbers are reversed, and the trading volume has increased sixfold.

As an old friend of mine, who has been in the scrap metal business in Willimantic, Connecticut, for 30 years said, commodity markets were never intended to be investment markets. Yet that is what they have become, and consumers and small businesses cannot keep up with the huge price swings occurring every day with no apparent connection to supply and demand.

These huge price swings have a direct result on my constituents in eastern Connecticut who are facing dire circumstances if home heating oil remains at high and unstable prices this fall and winter. It is time that Congress took additional steps to make sure that all markets, including foreign boards of trade, operate with CFTC oversight. We must bring transparency and stability to energy trading.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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