March 11, 2016

CFTC Commissioner Withdraws Flawed Report; Time to Move Forward on Position Limit Rule That Protects Consumers

March 11, 2016

CFTC Commissioner Withdraws Flawed Report; Time to Move Forward on Position Limit Rule That Protects Consumers

Statement of Tyson Slocum, Director, Public Citizen’s Energy Program

Note: Today, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo withdrew a flawed report that recommended the agency weaken a Dodd-Frank rule designed to protect consumers from energy price spikes caused by speculative buying in commodities markets. Tyson Slocum, the lone public interest and consumer representative on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee, submitted dissenting remarks (PDF) regarding the report in late February.

I applaud Commissioner Giancarlo for recognizing the report’s fatal flaws, as described in my dissent, and withdrawing the report. I look forward to working with my fellow advisory committee members to support the commission’s efforts to protect consumers and maintain market integrity by implementing all of the required regulations under Dodd-Frank, including finalizing the long-stalled position limits rules as soon as possible.

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