Campaign Promises

Other/Miscellaneous -> Independent Organizations -> CFTC
Item	Independent Organizations
CFTC		Grade
IO-1	The Promise: "Current loopholes in Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations have contributed to the skyrocketing price of oil on world markets...will enact simple legislation to close these loopholes and increase transparency on the market to help bring oil prices down and prevent traders from unfairly lining their pockets at the expense of the American people." When/Where: Obama-Biden Plan: "New Energy for America" dated 09/06/08. Source: http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/edg/media/Obama_New_Energy_0804.pdf Status:In CY2008, oil prices skyrockted to over $147 per barrel. To mitigate the potential repeat of the CY2008 situation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a proposal on 01/14/10 to cap the number of contracts the 10 largest position holders could hold in all markets. Under Section 737 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (aka "Financial Reform Bill") signed into law by President Obama on 07/21/10, the CFTC is bound to "establish limits (including related hedge exemption provisions) on the aggregate number or amount of positions in contracts based upon the same underlying commodity (as defined by the Commission) that may be held by any person, including any group or class of traders..." This initiative to close the oil-related loopholes extended the CFTC's authority to the over-the-counter market for the first time in over 30 years. This promise was fulfilled.	1.00