Motive for H.R. 1003

In spite of the current government shutdown, let's continue to look at H.R. 1003 to try to understand what makes Congress tick. What is the motive for Congressman Michael Conaway [R-TX11] to put forth sponsorship for this bill? Let's take a look at his him home state of Texas. The number of farms in Texas has decreased from 420,000 in 1940 to 244,700 in 2012. Over the past 70 years, agriculture in Texas has become more specialized, more expensive, and more business oriented than times of the past. Farms and ranches are bigger, and the stakes are higher that they hit their target crop outputs every year. H.R. 1003 would insert more regulation into the process of creating laws that govern agriculture. Theoretically, it would make it more difficult to pass legislation (through a series of mandatory analyses by the Office of the Chief Economist), which could cause lasting negative economic impacts to the agriculture industry. Does our government need this additional layer of red tape to keep its Agriculture legislation in check? This is an example of a piece of legislation that attempts to reduce government restrictions by increasing government involvement in the process. Funny how government works.

My next posts will start looking at the legislative process from a higher level as I attempt to characterize how the sum of our Congressional action leads to government spending and hopefully benefits to United States citizens. The website GovTrack.us will be key to this effort as I plan to use their database of legislation to objectively hold individual Congressman accountable for their actions.

H.R. 1003 - The Facts

OK, back to H.R. 1003. Let's start with the facts:

Sponsor: Rep. Michael Conaway [R-TX11]
Cosponsors: Garrett, Scott [R-NJ5], Jordan, Jim [R-OH4], McHenry, Patrick [R-NC10], Scott, David [D-GA13], Vargas, Juan [D-CA51], and Ribble, Reid [R-WI8]

Affects: Title 7 U.S.C. §19(a) "Consideration of costs and benefits and antitrust laws"

In a nutshell: Mandates a cost-benefit analysis (with specific details included) be performed before promulgating future commodity exchange regulation.

Specific Changes:
Adds -->
(1) IN GENERAL- ...through the Office of the Chief Economist, shall assess the costs and benefits, both qualitative and quantitative, of the intended regulation and propose or adopt a regulation only on a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify the costs of the intended regulation (recognizing that some benefits and costs are difficult to quantify). It must measure, and seek to improve, the actual results of regulatory requirements."

(2) CONSIDERATIONS- In making a reasoned determination of the costs and the benefits, the Commission shall evaluate--
...
(C) considerations of the impact on market liquidity in the futures and swaps markets;
(F) available alternatives to direct regulation;
(G) the degree and nature of the risks posed by various activities within the scope of its jurisdiction;
(H) whether, consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives, the regulation is tailored to impose the least burden on society, including market participants, individuals, businesses of differing sizes, and other entities (including small communities and governmental entities), taking into account, to the extent practicable, the cumulative costs of regulations;
(I) whether the regulation is inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative of other Federal regulations;
(J) whether, in choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, those approaches maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, and other benefits, distributive impacts, and equity);

Cynicism to Optimism - Objectively Reporting Our Nation's Congressional Delegation

Three years later, I'm back in the blogging business. This time posts will be short, to the point, and optimistic of our country's future...as difficult as that may be to do in recent days. First challenge. Starting out small, we will report on current delegation running through Congress to analyze its impacts on our lives. First up, H.R. 1003: To improve consideration by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of the costs and benefits of its regulations and orders. Short and sweet. No news to report today, but we will be tracking this House Resolution for the next couple weeks. And we will look at ways to objectively quantify its impacts on society. More to follow... Hope to see some readers here soon. Signing off for now... -Z