CFTC Reauthorization Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6197 To reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2020 Mr. PETERSON (for himself, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CONAWAY, and Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘CFTC Reauthorization 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—POLICY AMENDMENTS Sec. 101. Foreign futures authority. Sec. 102. Honors program. Sec. 103. Advisory committee changes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6197 IH Sec. 104. Enhancement of Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at the Com- mission; internship program. Sec. 105. Detailing and resource-sharing. Sec. 106. Office of the Chief Economist. Sec. 107. Equal consideration for holding companies. Sec. 108. Exemption of qualified charitable organizations from regulation as commodity pool operators. Sec. 109. Digital commodity. Sec. 110. System safeguards. Sec. 111. Administration of swap execution facilities. Sec. 112. Applicability of prohibitions on fraud and manipulation to activities outside the United States. Sec. 113. Privilege retention. Sec. 114. Proprietary information. Sec. 115. Authority to provide food and incidental assistance to foreign officials hosted by the Commission. Sec. 116. Extension of operations. Sec. 117. Aiding and abetting. Sec. 118. Modernization of authority of the Commission to conduct research, development, demonstration, and information programs. Sec. 119. Protecting customer property during commodity broker bankruptcy. Sec. 120. Elimination of the double-sided confirmation requirement for swap data repositories. Sec. 121. Whistleblower protections for internal disclosures. Sec. 122. Updating standards for natural persons to meet requirements for qualified eligible persons. Sec. 123. Government Accountability Office study on aluminum markets. Sec. 124. Response to foreign regulatory authority. Sec. 125. Affiliate conditions. TITLE II—TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS Sec. 201. Correction of references. Sec. 202. Elimination of obsolete references to dealer options. Sec. 203. Updated trade data publication requirement. Sec. 204. Flexibility for all registered entities. Sec. 205. Elimination of obsolete references to electronic trading facilities. Sec. 206. Elimination of obsolete reference to alternative swap execution facili- ties. Sec. 207. Clarification of Commission authority over swaps trading. Sec. 208. Elimination of obsolete reference to the Commodity Exchange Com- mission. Sec. 209. Elimination of obsolete references to derivative transaction execution facilities. Sec. 210. Elimination of obsolete references to exempt boards of trade. Sec. 211. Elimination of completed reports. Sec. 212. Miscellaneous corrections. Sec. 213. Technical amendments to section 14(e). Sec. 214. Technical clarifications for retail foreign currency. Sec. 215. Miscellaneous swap technical corrections. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6197 IH TITLE I—POLICY AMENDMENTS 1 SEC. 101. FOREIGN FUTURES AUTHORITY. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1a(26) of the Commodity 3 Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a(26)) is amended to read as 4 follows: 5 ‘‘(26) FOREIGN FUTURES AUTHORITY.—The 6 term ‘foreign futures authority’ means any foreign 7 government, or any law enforcement authority, de- 8 partment, central bank, ministry, agency, govern- 9 mental body, or regulatory organization empowered 10 by a foreign government to administer, enforce, or 11 prosecute a law, rule, or regulation relating to mat- 12 ters involving futures, options, swaps, or commod- 13 ities, or any such authority, department, or agency 14 of a political subdivision of a foreign government 15 empowered to administer, enforce, or prosecute a 16 law, rule, or regulation as it relates to such mat- 17 ters.’’. 18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 12(f) of 19 such Act (7 U.S.C. 16(f)) is amended— 20 (1) in paragraph (1)— 21 (A) by striking ‘‘futures or options’’ and 22 inserting ‘‘futures, options, swaps, or commod- 23 ities’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6197 IH (B) by striking ‘‘administers or enforces’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘administers, enforces, or pros- 2 ecutes’’; and 3 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘in futures 4 and options’’ and inserting ‘‘in futures, options, 5 swaps, or commodities’’. 6 SEC. 102. HONORS PROGRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(a)(7) of the Commodity 8 Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2(a)(7)) is amended by adding 9 at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(D) HONORS PROGRAM.—The Commis- 11 sion may establish the Honors Program under 12 its appointment and compensation authorities.’’. 13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 12(b)(1) of 14 such Act (7 U.S.C. 16(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the 15 end the following: ‘‘To clarify the Commission’s authority 16 to establish the Honors Program under section 17 2(a)(7)(D), the Commission may coordinate with the Of- 18 fice of Personnel Management, as needed.’’. 19 SEC. 103. ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHANGES. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(a)(15) of the Com- 21 modity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2(a)(15)) is amended to 22 read as follows: 23 ‘‘(15) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 24 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6197 IH ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 1 shall establish advisory committees to serve 2 as vehicles for discussion and communica- 3 tion on matters related to the regulatory 4 activities of the Commission. 5 ‘‘(ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission 6 shall appoint to an advisory committee 7 such members as the Commission finds ap- 8 propriate to promote robust discussion of 9 the subject mater before the advisory com- 10 mittee. In appointing members to an advi- 11 sory committee, the Commission shall seek 12 to include a wide diversity of opinion and 13 represent a broad cross-section of interests, 14 as applicable to the subject matter. 15 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of an ad- 16 visory committee shall include the following: 17 ‘‘(i) to hold meetings at such intervals 18 as necessary to carry out the functions of 19 the advisory committee; 20 ‘‘(ii) to submit to the Commission 21 such reports and recommendations to the 22 Commission (including minority views, if 23 any) as the advisory committee deems ap- 24 propriate; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6197 IH ‘‘(iii) such activities as the Commis- 1 sion determines is appropriate. 2 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL AD- 3 VISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—An advisory com- 4 mittee established under this paragraph shall be 5 subject to the Federal Advisory Committee 6 Act.’’. 7 (b) EXISTING ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—Notwith- 8 standing section 2(a)(15) of the Commodity Exchange 9 Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission may 10 permit an advisory committee that, as of the date of the 11 enactment of this Act, had a charter established by the 12 Commission, or that was established under such section 13 as in effect before such date of enactment, to continue 14 to operate in accordance with the charter or in accordance 15 with such predecessor section until the sponsor of the advi- 16 sory committee is changed. After which such advisory 17 committee will become subject to section 2(a)(15) of the 18 Commodity Exchange Act. 19 SEC. 104. ENHANCEMENT OF OFFICE OF MINORITY AND 20 WOMEN INCLUSION AT THE COMMISSION; IN- 21 TERNSHIP PROGRAM. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(a) of the Commodity 23 Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2(a)) is amended by adding at 24 the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6197 IH ‘‘(16) OFFICE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN IN- 1 CLUSION.—Within 1 year after the date of the en- 2 actment of this paragraph, the Commission shall 3 comply with section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall 4 Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 5 ‘‘(17) ANNUAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Direc- 7 tor shall establish a program to place an appro- 8 priate number of students attending qualified 9 institutions in a semester-length internship 10 within the Commission’s divisions and offices. 11 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The Commission shall 12 set aside an appropriate percentage of the 13 funds allocated to the office of the Chairman to 14 enable the selected interns identified in sub- 15 paragraph (A) to afford living expenses, includ- 16 ing rent and a per-diem, in the metropolitan 17 areas where the Director identifies internship 18 opportunities. 19 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED INSTITUTION DEFINED.— 20 In this paragraph, the term ‘qualified institu- 21 tion’ means— 22 ‘‘(i) an 1890 Institution (as defined in 23 section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Ex- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6197 IH tension, and Education Reform Act of 1 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)); 2 ‘‘(ii) a 1994 Institution (as defined in 3 section 532 of the Equity in Educational 4 Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public 5 Law 103–382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note)); 6 ‘‘(iii) an eligible institution (as defined 7 in section 1489 of the National Agricul- 8 tural Research, Extension, and Teaching 9 Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3361)); or 10 ‘‘(iv) a Hispanic-serving institution 11 (as defined in section 1404 of the Food 12 and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 13 3103)).’’. 14 (b) JOINT STANDARDS.—In carrying out section 15 2(a)(16) of the Commodity Exchange Act, the Commodity 16 Futures Trading Commission shall adopt the joint stand- 17 ards established in the Interagency Policy Statement pub- 18 lished in the Federal Register on June 10, 2015 (80 Fed. 19 Reg. 33016), or any successor Policy Statement. 20 SEC. 105. DETAILING AND RESOURCE-SHARING. 21 Section 2(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 22 U.S.C. 2(a)), as amended by section 104 of this Act, is 23 amended by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6197 IH ‘‘(18) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGEN- 1 CIES.— 2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 3 accept any assistance, including services, funds, 4 facilities, and other support services as deter- 5 mined by the Commission, to effectuate the 6 purposes and provisions of this Act, from any 7 department or agency of the United States that 8 is authorized under other law to provide the as- 9 sistance. 10 ‘‘(B) DETAIL FLEXIBILITY.—When an em- 11 ployee from another department or agency is 12 detailed to the Commission, the employee may 13 be detailed on either a reimbursable or non-re- 14 imbursable basis, and such detail shall be with- 15 out interruption or loss of civil service status or 16 privilege. 17 ‘‘(19) ASSISTANCE FROM FOREIGN GOVERN- 18 MENTAL ENTITIES.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 20 may— 21 ‘‘(i) accept details of officers or em- 22 ployees of a foreign futures authority or 23 any department or agency of a foreign gov- 24 ernment, including a central bank or min- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6197 IH istry, on a temporary basis as employees of 1 the Commission pursuant to section 12(b) 2 of this Act, or section 3101 or 3109 of 3 title 5, United States Code; and 4 ‘‘(ii) detail officers or employees of 5 the Commission to work on a temporary 6 basis for an entity described in clause (i). 7 ‘‘(B) RECIPROCITY AND REIMBURSE- 8 MENT.— 9 ‘‘(i) RECIPROCITY NOT REQUIRED.— 10 Assistance described in subparagraph (A) 11 need not be provided on a reciprocal basis. 12 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT.— 13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Commis- 14 sion may provide and accept assist- 15 ance described in subparagraph (A) 16 on a reimbursable or non-reimburs- 17 able basis, only in accordance with a 18 written agreement between the Com- 19 mission and the respective foreign 20 governmental entity. 21 ‘‘(II) FORM.—A reimbursement 22 to or from the Commission may be 23 made in cash or in kind. The Commis- 24 sion shall credit a reimbursement re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6197 IH ceived from a foreign governmental 1 entity to the appropriate Commission 2 appropriation, fund, or account. 3 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT.—An offi- 4 cer or employee detailed under subparagraph 5 (A)(i) shall be subject to the provisions of law 6 relating to ethics, conflicts of interest, or cor- 7 ruption, and to any other statute governing the 8 standards of conduct for Commission employees 9 that are applicable to the type of appointment. 10 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—An officer or employee 11 detailed under subparagraph (A)(i) may not 12 hold any management position at the Commis- 13 sion.’’. 14 SEC. 106. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(a) of the Commodity 16 Exchange Act, as amended by sections 104 and 105 of 17 this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(20) OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST.— 19 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab- 20 lished in the Commission the Office of the Chief 21 Economist. 22 ‘‘(B) HEAD.—The Office of the Chief 23 Economist shall be headed by the Chief Econo- 24 mist. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6197.IH H6197 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6197 IH ‘‘(C) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Economist 1 shall serve as economic advisor to the Commis- 2 sion and perform functions such as economic 3 analysis, regulatory cost-benefit analysis, and 4 research. 5 ‘‘(D) PROFESSIONAL STAFF.— 6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]