Good morning. I thank the members of the Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC) for your service. I wish that I could join you for your meeting this morning in New York. I want to thank Commissioner Caroline Pham for sponsoring this committee, Harry Jung, the DFO of GMAC, and Nicholas Elliot, the ADFO of GMAC.

Today, I’d like to celebrate GMAC’s success as well as the success of each of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (Commission or CFTC) five advisory committees. Nowhere are the efforts of each Commissioner to support all of the other Commissioners at the CFTC more evident than in our support of one another in our service as Advisory Committee sponsors. The issues facing our markets are global, complex, and require careful thinking—this is the kind of thinking that each of my fellow Commissioners and the Advisory Committees are tremendously engaged in accomplishing.

My remarks underscore the importance and strength of the relationships among the distinct Commissioners and missions outlined in advisory committee charters for each advisory committee. In a nutshell, we are better together.

We have a great and complementary collective agenda reflective of the vibrant set of Commissioners currently serving at the Commission. 

The Strength of our Diverse Advisory Committees

The CFTC has an exceptional and unique history of leading the development of market regulation and policy. Not only do we—the currently confirmed Commissioners and Chair—have the opportunity to engage with staff and the industry with respect to proposed and final rules through public meetings, but we also have great opportunities to inform our decision-making through formal convenings, requests for comment, and the work of the Advisory Committees.

I have attended meetings of the GMAC and EEMAC on the road away from our DC headquarters; I have had the privilege of engaging with committee members and sponsors on all of the issues that each of the Advisory Committees have advanced. The tremendous success of the Advisory Committees is a testament to how well the Commissioners of the current Commission work together, supporting one another, and advancing critical issues challenging our markets including bank capital levels, Treasury market liquidity, renewable energy, climate-related market risk, and the integration of artificial intelligence in our markets.

Each Commissioner Leads an Advisory Committee

Each Commissioner sponsors an Advisory Committee. The committees offer an example of the Commission’s dedication to tackling hard questions through dialogue, engagement with a wide range of parties, and deep thoughtfulness about the issues.

Each Advisory Committee Contributes to our Collective Agenda

Today’s GMAC meeting agenda reflects Commissioner Pham’s commitment to this legacy. Today, the GMAC will address essential topics such as bank capital levels, building on prior recommendations on critical issues including Treasury market liquidity and well-functioning repo markets.

The other advisory committees have similarly advanced impressive and ambitious questions. The Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC) invites its members into the field, undertaking a nationwide tour of critical energy facilities. The Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) has kept the Commission tied to our roots in agricultural commodities, and just recently heard from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the FDIC, and the Farm Credit Administration on the challenges that farmers with fixed-rate loans are likely to face as those rates reset at far higher levels. This meeting kicked off the CFTC’s third Agricultural Conference in Kansas City, at which the full Commission showed up to support.

Just a month ago, the Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) issued an impressive report advancing recommendations that will aid the Commission and the markets we regulate in tackling the challenges that artificial intelligence raises. I applaud the TAC for thoughtfully advancing these actions for the Commission to consider.

Throughout my time as a Commissioner, I have worked hard with my fellow Commissioners and our Commission staff to provide policy solutions to address the challenges that AI poses, including by proposing an inter-agency task force to harmonize AI regulation across financial markets, a survey of market participants’ use of AI, and heightened penalties for those who misuse AI to manipulate our markets.[1]

The risks that our markets face are numerous and varied, and the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC), which I sponsor, has diligently engaged with these risks and the policy interventions that might mitigate such risks.[2] At the most recent MRAC meeting in April, MRAC adopted recommendations from the Central Counterparty (CCP) Risk and Governance Subcommittee on clearinghouse recovery and resolution, intended to aid the Commission as it develops a final rulemaking on this issue. These recommendations addressed supervisory stress tests, recovery scenarios, non-default losses, the provision of data for resolution planning, and customer porting. At the same meeting, MRAC also adopted a report from the Market Structure Subcommittee addressing the clearing capacity of futures commission merchants. Finally, the MRAC’s Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee built on the work started at a public roundtable in March, offering several presentations on Voluntary Carbon Markets. 

As my remarks make clear, committee meetings like today’s are an example of the work in which the Commission is engaged on a daily basis. I look forward to today’s discussion, which I know will be a fruitful one.