Nomination Of Gary Gensler To Be Chairman Of The Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. I rise to support the nomination of Gary Gensler for Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

I have a keen interest in the leadership of the CFTC, based on my chairmanship of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the agency and because the state of Illinois is home to some of the most important futures exchanges in the world. During this crisis of confidence in our economic system, the CFTC needs a Senate-confirmed chairman at the helm to oversee this complex and growing industry.

Mr. Gensler's experience includes stints on Wall Street, in the Clinton Treasury Department, and with the Senate Banking Committee. He knows how the world of futures trading works, and he understands how to get things done at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

He is going to need that expertise. Last week, Treasury Secretary Geithner announced the administration's proposal for reregulating the over-the-counter derivatives markets. If confirmed, Mr. Gensler will be charged with implementing much of that vision. The proposal will require far more transparency and responsibility from derivatives traders that have long operated in the shadows. The massive derivatives exposures taken on by AIG and other largely unregulated financial firms can't continue. Mr. Gensler will be responsible for seeing to that.

Mr. Gensler will also be charged with eliminating the excessive speculation in the oil and agriculture markets that helped lead to $140 barrels of oil last summer. I worked with many of my colleagues to attempt to address that issue last year, and many regulatory improvements were included in last year's farm bill. But the CFTC can do more.

I met with Mr. Gensler in my office several months ago after President Obama nominated him for this position. I asked him about his role during the Clinton administration in which he advocated weakening CFTC oversight over futures trading. Mr. Gensler admitted that those reforms had gone too far, that he had learned from those mistakes, and that more sensible regulation by the CFTC is needed. I expect him to stick to that sentiment and to aggressively monitor trading under the CFTC's jurisdiction.

I look forward to working with Mr. Gensler to ensure that the CFTC is adequately funded and that the agency provides strong and sensible regulation under his leadership. The future stability of our economy depends on it.

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