S.Amdt. 964

1. Adds SEC. 122___. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF ENERGY MARKETS on page 1150, line 15

   Adds a sectionPrinted page

   Inserted: SEC. 122___. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF ENERGY MARKETS.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--

   Inserted: (1) in 1974, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was established as an independent agency with a mandate--

   Inserted: (A) to enforce and administer the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.);

   Inserted: (B) to ensure market integrity;

   Inserted: (C) to protect market users from fraud and abusive trading practices; and

   Inserted: (D) to prevent and prosecute manipulation of the price of any commodity in interstate commerce;

   Inserted: (2) Congress declared in section 4a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6a) that excessive speculation imposes an undue and unnecessary burden on interstate commerce;

   Inserted: (3) title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) required the Commission to establish position limits "to diminish, eliminate, or prevent excessive speculation" for trading in crude oil, gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other physical commodity derivatives by January 17, 2011;

   Inserted: (4) according to an article published in Forbes on February 27, 2012, excessive oil speculation "translates out into a premium for gasoline at the pump of $.56 a gallon" based on a 2012 report from Goldman Sachs;

   Inserted: (5) on May 10, 2013--

   Inserted: (A) the supply of finished motor gasoline in the United States was higher than the supply was on May 15, 2009, when the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was less than $2.30; and

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   Inserted: (B) demand for finished motor gasoline in the United States was lower than demand was on May 15, 2009;

   Inserted: (6) on May 17, 2013, the national average price of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.62 a gallon, an increase of more $1.30 per gallon as compared to 2009, when finished motor gasoline supplies were lower and demand was higher;

   Inserted: (7) the International Energy Agency forecast on May 14, 2013, that the global supply of oil will surge by 8,400,000 barrels per day over the subsequent 5-year period, a pace that is significantly faster than demand, with nearly \2/3\ of that increase occurring in North America;

   Inserted: (8) on November 3, 2011, Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission testified before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that "80 to 87 percent of the [oil futures] market" is dominated by "financial participants, swap dealers, hedge funds, and other financials," a figure that has more than doubled over the prior decade;

   Inserted: (9) excessive oil and gasoline speculation is creating major market disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand; and

   Inserted: (10) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has a responsibility--

   Inserted: (A) to ensure that the price discovery for oil and gasoline accurately reflects the fundamentals of supply and demand; and

   Inserted: (B) to take immediate action to implement strong and meaningful position limits to regulated exchange markets to eliminate excessive oil speculation.

   Inserted: (b) Actions.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall use the authority of the Commission (including emergency powers, if necessary)--

   Inserted: (1) to implement position limits that diminish, eliminate, or prevent excessive speculation in the trading of crude oil, gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other physical commodity derivatives, as required under title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.); and

   Inserted: (2) to curb immediately the role of excessive speculation in any contract market within the jurisdiction and control of the Commission, on or through which energy futures or swaps are traded.

   Original wording

   On page 1150, after line 15, add the following:

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