Politico | House Subcommittee Chairman Skeptical of CFTC Budget Request

House Subcommittee Chairman Skeptical of CFTC Budget Request
By Zachary Warmbrodt | Politico | April 12, 2013

House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt is questioning "the taxpayers' return on investment" at the CFTC, which has requested a $315 million budget for next fiscal year. "While I realize that the commission is nearing a point where most rules under Dodd-Frank have been written, there still seems to be many questions about the overreach of some of these rules, and quite honestly the CFTC's focus on hiring additional staff seems disconnected to the reality that most activity under your purview is being conducted electronically," he said at a hearing today on the agency’s budget request. Aderholt’s skepticism is similar to that of CFTC Commissioner Scott O'Malia, who is testifying alongside CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler and arguing the budget request should have more of a focus on technology. Subcommittee ranking member Sam Farr opened the hearing by arguing in favor of the president's proposed 50 percent budget increase for the agency, saying, "The cost of fully funding the CFTC is minor. The cost of underfunding the CFTC is enormous. American taxpayers deserve this minor front-end investment at the CFTC to yield enormous long term returns."