Derivatives Bill Makes it through Senate Ag Committee

Today the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry passed out of the committee The Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act. Chairman Blanche Lincoln's (AR) press release touts that the bill will "bring 100 percent transparency to the nation's financial markets, prevent future bailouts . . ."

The bill will be folded into the larger financial reform legislation being considered by the Senate. The Senate Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees the derivatives market.

According to Edward Wyatt and David M. Herszenhorn's reporting for the New York Times, the bill passed out of the committee 13 to 8. The only Republican voting for the bill was Iowa Senator Charles Grassley.

As the Times reports, the larger financial reform package passed out of the Senate Banking Committee without a single Republican vote. Senator Grassley is up for reelection, and so this begs the question as to whether or not other Republicans up for reelection will also take a position on financial reform that they might see as an easier position to explain to voters.

The Times also reports that recently Republicans indicated that there are ongoing bipartisan negotiation, but they have yet to yield "major changes to the legislation." Right now financial reform is certain to dominate the Senate's legislative calendar for what could be a significant amount of time.

To read the bill click here.
To read Chairman Lincoln's press release on the bill's passage, click here.
To read the New York Times article on the bill, click here.
To read a previous US Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog Post on derivatives reform, click here.

Posted: 04/21/10