Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008

To provide energy price relief by authorizing greater resources and authority for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and for other purposes.

6/20/2008--Introduced.
Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008 - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should immediately send to Congress a request for emergency appropriations for FY2008 for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in an amount that is sufficient to:
(1) help restore public confidence in energy commodities markets and federal oversight of those markets;
(2) potentially impose limits on excessive speculation that may be increasing the price of oil, gasoline, diesel, and other energy commodities;
(3) significantly improve the information technology capabilities of the CFTC to help it effectively regulate the energy futures markets; and
(4) fund at least 100 new full-time positions at the CFTC to oversee energy commodity market speculation and to enforce the Commodity Exchange Act. Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to provide for additional employees for improved enforcement. Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to address the kind of case in which the CFTC grants or considers granting relief to a foreign board of trade from the requirement that it become a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity with respect to an energy commodity physically delivered in the United States. Requires the CFTC, before granting or considering such relief, to determine that the foreign board of trade:
(1) applies comparable principles or requirements regarding the daily publication of trading information and position limits or accountability levels for speculators as apply to a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity trading energy commodities physically delivered in the United States; and
(2) provides such information to the Commission regarding the extent of speculative and nonspeculative trading in the energy commodity that is comparable to the information the Commission determines necessary to publish a Commitment of Traders report for such a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity. Requires the Commission to disaggregate and make public monthly:
(1) the number of positions and total value of index funds and other passive, long-only positions in energy markets; and
(2) data on speculative positions relative to bona fide physical hedgers in those markets.


... morehide bill summarySee Full Bill Text

Sponsor

• Rep. Bob Etheridge [D, NC-2]
• and 9 Co-Sponsors
  • Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]
  • Rep. George Butterfield [D, NC-1]
  • Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D, NY-22]
  • Rep. Mazie Hirono [D, HI-2]
  • Rep. Paul Hodes [D, NH-2]
  • Rep. Steve Kagen [D, WI-8]
  • Rep. Jim Matheson [D, UT-2]
  • Rep. Charles Melancon [D, LA-3]
  • Rep. Albio Sires [D, NJ-13]
  close

Committees

• House Agriculture

Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to H.R.6334

Number	Status	Purpose

Bill Status

Make a Bill Status Widget (Close help)

OpenCongress widgets allow you to display information about bills and issue areas on your own website or blog. First, select which bill or issue you want to track, then customize the appearance of the panel, and finally paste a simple chunk of HTML into your site. Now your community will have an easy, up-to-date way to track the status of important bills and issues in Congress.

Introduced		Voted on by House		Voted on by Senate		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
June 20, 2008

Show All Actions (3 actions)Hide Actions

All Bill Actions

• Jun 26, 2008: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H6105-6106)
• Jun 20, 2008: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
• Introduced on Jun 20, 2008.

---

Related Bills:

• S.2995
• S.3130
• H.R.6349

Data from the Congressional Research Service

Show More User Statistics... Hide User Statistics

In the News

June 23, 2008 House ag committee eyes tighter regs for energy markets

The House Agriculture Committee will vote Tuesday on a bill, HR 6334, to tighten regulations in energy markets. US Rep. Bob Etheridge (DN. ...

Was this article useful? Yes or No

Source: Feedstuffs, MN

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

See most useful news articles

Blog Coverage

July 08, 2008 House Ag. Committee to examine energy bills

... to prevent manipulation and excessive speculation in energy markets. Among the proposals examined will be US Rep. Bob Etheridge’s (D-Lillington) bill, HR 6334, The Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of [...]

Was this article useful? Yes or No

Source: Home in Henderson

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

July 08, 2008 House Ag. Committee to examine energy bills

HR 6334, The Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008 will take three steps to ensure that energy prices are not being artificially increased by unfair market practices. First it will give the CFTC more ...

Was this article useful? Yes or No

Source: Who Is Home in Henderson

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

June 30, 2008 House votes on gas relief legislation

Etheridge has also introduced his own legislation, HR 6334, The Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008, that would give the CFTC additional authority and resources to prevent manipulation and excessive ...

Was this article useful? Yes or No

Source: Who Is Home in Henderson

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

4 more posts...
See most useful blog posts

Information made available by: