Kansas Common Sense: Oversight of the CFTC's Budget

Statement

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to question the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) concerning his budget request for the fiscal year. In this time of tight financial constraints, it is critically important that every agency in the federal government evaluate how it can do more with less. In the specific case of the CFTC, I have expressed consistent concerns that the agency is engaging in discretionary regulation not called for by Congress. If not carefully considered, with extensive cost-benefit analysis, an errant or overly-broad rulemaking by the CFTC could result in a commercial firm or an agricultural producer paying for the mistakes of Wall Street. As the budget process continues to unfold over the coming months, I will continue to use my position on the Appropriations Committee to find savings where possible and make sure that government is smarter, not just bigger.

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