WASHINGTON — Last week, President Donald J. Trump signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill package into law.
The legislation included many hard-fought wins for U.S. cattle producers, including: a delay of implementation of the Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) mandate for livestock and insect haulers; and an exemption for producers from the Environmental Protection Agency’s livestock emissions reporting mandate.
However, USCA was disappointed to learn that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission budget was cut by $1 million.
USCA President Kenny Graner issued the following statement:
“One of the few negatives in the omnibus bill dealt with Congress’ approval of a cut in funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Cattle producers continue to struggle with the lack of transparency being provided within the CME’s Live Cattle Futures Contract. As the agency charged with oversight of the CME, the CFTC needs to maintain a robust budget to continue serving its role as the market watchdog.
“This $1 million budget hit will directly impact staffing levels and much needed CFTC market research funding. The U.S. cattle industry stands to be undercut with irregular and insubstantial market swings that could be avoided with proper CFTC funding. USCA urges Congress to correct this discrepancy and address the lack of CFTC funding in the FY 2019 Appropriations Bill.”
—U.S. Cattlemen’s Association
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