“True North”

Comments at 8th Meeting of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Dodd/Frank Rulemakings

Commissioner Bart Chilton

December 16, 2010

Sometimes we struggle with figuring out the “right” answer to particular problem, and other times, the path seems pretty clear.

I’m looking at a letter that each Commissioner received yesterday from Senator Harkin.  It’s about position limits, and in the first paragraph, Senator Harkin says:

The requirement is mandatory rather than “permissive,” and has a specified deadline.”

Finding the “right” answer on this one isn’t much of a struggle for me.

I’ve been saying that we need position limits, to protect consumers and market integrity, for years.  Some people have said, including at a Congressional hearing yesterday, that not only should we not do this, that Congress didn’t even mean for us to do it.  Given the plain language of the statute (just as Senator Harkin says in his letter), it’s pretty easy for me to see the “right” path.

So, I have the certainty that my compass on this one is headed True North.  I am looking forward to a robust proposal from the staff, and working with my colleagues to put in place the “right” rules to fulfill—just as Congress intended—the goals of protecting American consumers and markets.

Last Updated: December 17, 2010