House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson today commended the House of Representatives for passing the conference report on the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173).
 
"I am pleased the conference report contains many of the provisions the House Agriculture Committee endorsed in three different bills on these topics," Chairman Peterson said. "This bill will mitigate the outrageous price spikes in commodity markets that we first saw two years ago, bring greater transparency to the derivatives market through mandatory clearing and ensure that end users can continue using derivatives to hedge risk."
 
"This comprehensive legislation represents a middle ground between the House and Senate products. And, while no one got everything they wanted in this bill, I think we got a bill that will help prevent another crisis in the financial markets like the one we experienced in 2008," Chairman Peterson said.
 
The House Agriculture Committee played a key role in developing the financial reform legislation; particularly provisions that address increased volatility and speculation in the derivatives markets and that strengthen oversight and increase transparency in the markets for futures, options and over-the-counter products and swaps.
 
The Senate must now vote to approve the conference report before it is sent to President Obama for his signature.