I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1256 
To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Fu-
tures Trading Commission to jointly adopt rules setting forth the applica-
tion to cross-border swaps transactions of certain provisions relating 
to swaps that were enacted as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 
Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2013 
Mr. GARRETT (for himself, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. CARNEY, and Mr. DAVID 
SCOTT of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission and the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission to jointly adopt 
rules setting forth the application to cross-border swaps 
transactions of certain provisions relating to swaps that 
were enacted as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 
Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Swap Jurisdiction Cer-
tainty Act’’. 
SEC. 2. JOINT RULEMAKING ON CROSS-BORDER SWAPS. 
(a) JOINT RULEMAKING REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Securi-
ties and Exchange Commission and the Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission shall jointly issue rules 
setting forth the application of United States swaps 
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act relating to 
swaps and security-based swaps transacted between 
U.S. persons and non-U.S. persons. 
(2) CONSTRUCTION.—The Commissions shall 
jointly issue the rules required under paragraph (1) 
notwithstanding any difference in the authorities 
granted the Commissions in sections 30(c) and 36(c) 
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
78dd(c); 78mm(c)) and section 2(i) of the Com-
modity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2(i)), respectively. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Commissions shall joint-
ly issue rules that address— 
(1) the nature of the connections to the United 
States that require a non-U.S. person to register as 
a swap dealer, major swap participant, security- 
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based swap dealer, or security-based swap partici-
pant under each Commission’s respective Acts and 
the regulations issued under such Acts; 
(2) which of the United States swaps require-
ments shall apply to the swap and security-based 
swap activities of non-U.S. persons, U.S. persons, 
and their branches, agencies, subsidiaries, and affili-
ates outside of the United States and the extent to 
which such requirements shall apply; and 
(3) the circumstances under which a non-U.S. 
person in compliance with the regulatory require-
ments of a foreign jurisdiction shall be exempt from 
United States swaps requirements. 
(c) RULE IN ACCORDANCE WITH APA REQUIRED.— 
No guidance, memorandum of understanding, or any such 
other agreement may satisfy the requirement to issue a 
joint rule from the Commissions in accordance with sec-
tion 553 of title 5, United States Code. 
(d) GENERAL APPLICATION TO G20 MEMBER NA-
TIONS.— 
(1) GENERAL APPLICATION.—In issuing rules 
under this section, the Commissions shall provide 
that a non-U.S. person in compliance with the swaps 
regulatory requirements of a G20 member nation, or 
other foreign jurisdiction as jointly determined by 
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the Commissions, shall be exempt from United 
States swaps requirements in accordance with the 
schedule set forth in paragraph (2), unless the Com-
missions jointly determine that the regulatory re-
quirements of the G20 member nation or other for-
eign jurisdiction are not broadly equivalent to 
United States swaps requirements. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE SCHEDULE.—The exemp-
tion described in paragraph (1) and set forth under 
the rules required by this section shall apply to per-
sons or transactions relating to or involving— 
(A) G20 member nations, or any other for-
eign jurisdiction as jointly determined by the 
Commissions, accounting for the five largest 
combined swap and security-based swap mar-
kets by notional amount in the calendar year 
preceding issuance of such rules, on the date on 
which final rules are issued under this section; 
(B) G20 member nations, or any other for-
eign jurisdiction as jointly determined by the 
Commissions, accounting for the next five larg-
est combined swap and security-based swap 
markets by notional amount in the calendar 
year preceding issuance of such rules, 1 year 
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after the date on which such rules are issued; 
and 
(C) the remaining G20 member nations, 
and any other foreign jurisdiction as jointly de-
termined by the Commissions, 18 months after 
the date on which such rules are issued. 
(3) CRITERIA.—In such rules, the Commissions 
shall jointly establish criteria for determining that 
one or more categories of regulatory requirements of 
a G20 member nation or other foreign jurisdiction 
is not broadly equivalent to United States swaps re-
quirements and shall jointly determine the appro-
priate application of certain United States swap re-
quirements to persons or transactions relating to or 
involving that G20 member nation or other foreign 
jurisdiction. Such criteria shall include the scope and 
objectives of the regulatory requirements of a G20 
member nation or other foreign jurisdiction as well 
as the effectiveness of the supervisory compliance 
program administered, and the enforcement author-
ity exercised, by such G20 member nation or other 
foreign jurisdiction, and such other factors as the 
Commissions, by rule, jointly determine to be nec-
essary or appropriate in the public interest. 
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(4) REQUIRED
ASSESSMENT.—Beginning on 
after the date on which final rules are issued under 
this section, the Commissions shall begin to jointly 
assess the regulatory requirements of G20 member 
nations, as the Commissions jointly determine ap-
propriate, in accordance with the criteria established 
pursuant to paragraph (3), to determine if one or 
more categories of regulatory requirements of a G20 
member nation or other foreign jurisdiction is not 
broadly equivalent to United States swaps require-
ments 
(e) REPORT
TO CONGRESS.—If the Commissions 
make the joint determination described in subsection 
(d)(1) that the regulatory requirements of the G20 mem-
ber nation or other foreign jurisdiction are not broadly 
equivalent to United States swaps requirements, the Com-
missions shall articulate the basis for such a determination 
in a written report transmitted to the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services and the Committee on Agriculture of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Agri-
culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate within 30 
days of the determination. The determination shall not be 
effective until the transmission of such report. 
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(f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act and for pur-
poses of the rules issued pursuant to this Act, the fol-
lowing definitions apply: 
(1) The term ‘‘G20 member nation’’ refers to a 
nation that is a member nation of the Group of 
Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Gov-
ernors. 
(2) The term ‘‘U.S. person’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 230.902(k) of title 17, 
Code of Federal Regulations. The Commissions may, 
by rule, jointly revise the definition of U.S. person 
for purposes of the rules required under this section 
as they determine appropriate to more effectively 
carry out the purposes of this Act. 
(3) The term ‘‘United States swaps require-
ments’’ means the provisions relating to swaps and 
security-based swaps contained in the Commodity 
Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a et seq.) and the Securi-
ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) 
that were added by title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall 
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (15 
U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) and any rules or regulations 
prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion and the Commodity Futures Trading Commis-
sion pursuant to such provisions. 
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(g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) SECURITIES
EXCHANGE
ACT
OF 1934.— 
Section 36(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (15 U.S.C. 78mm(c)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘or except as necessary to effectuate the purposes of 
the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act,’’ after ‘‘to 
grant exemptions,’’. 
(2) 
COMMODITY
EXCHANGE
ACT.—Section 
4(c)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 
U.S.C. 6(c)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or ex-
cept as necessary to effectuate the purposes of the 
Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act,’’ after ‘‘to grant 
exemptions,’’. 
Æ 
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