I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7488 
To create an Office of the Chief Economist at the Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2026 
Mr. BRESNAHAN (for himself and Mrs. MCCLAIN DELANEY) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To create an Office of the Chief Economist at the Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘CFTC Office of the 
Chief Economist Act of 2026’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(a) of the Commodity 
Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2(a)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(16) OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST.— 
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‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab-
lished in the Commission the Office of the Chief 
Economist. 
‘‘(B) HEAD.—The Office of the Chief 
Economist shall be headed by the Chief Econo-
mist. 
‘‘(C) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Economist 
shall serve as economic advisor to the Commis-
sion and perform functions such as economic 
analysis, regulatory cost-benefit analysis, and 
research. 
‘‘(D) PROFESSIONAL STAFF.— 
‘‘(i) APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY.—The 
Commission may appoint an individual to 
a position described in clause (ii)— 
‘‘(I) in accordance with the stat-
utes, rules, and regulations governing 
appointments to positions in the ex-
cepted service (as defined in section 
2103 of title 5, United States Code); 
and 
‘‘(II) without regard to any stat-
ute, rule, or regulation governing ap-
pointments to positions in the com-
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petitive service (as defined in section 
2102 of such title). 
‘‘(ii) POSITION DESCRIBED.—A posi-
tion referred to in clause (i) is a position 
at the Commission that— 
‘‘(I) serves the Office of the 
Chief Economist; 
‘‘(II) is in the competitive service 
(as defined in section 2102 of such 
title); and 
‘‘(III)(aa) is an economist, re-
search analyst, or data specialist; or 
‘‘(bb) requires specialized knowl-
edge of futures, swaps, or commod-
ities markets, financial and capital 
market formation or regulation, finan-
cial market structures or surveillance, 
data collection or analysis, or informa-
tion technology. 
‘‘(iii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The 
appointment of a candidate to a position 
under authority of this subsection shall not 
be considered to cause such position to be 
converted from the competitive service to 
the excepted service.’’. 
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 15(a) of 
such Act (7 U.S.C. 19(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, after co-
ordinating with the Office of the Chief Economist,’’ 
before ‘‘shall’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘futures 
markets’’ and inserting ‘‘markets under the jurisdic-
tion of the Commission’’; 
(3) in paragraph (2), by redesignating subpara-
graphs (D) and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F); 
and 
(4) in paragraph (2), by inserting after sub-
paragraph (C) the following: 
‘‘(D) considerations of market liquidity;’’. 
Æ 
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