I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4535 
To modernize the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission 
to conduct research, development, demonstration, and information programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia (for himself, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. JOHNSON 
of South Dakota, Mr. CRAWFORD, and Mr. BOST) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To modernize the authority of the Commodity Futures Trad-
ing Commission to conduct research, development, dem-
onstration, and information programs. 
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 ‘‘Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission Research and Development Mod-
ernization Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE COM-
MODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION TO 
CONDUCT RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEM-
ONSTRATION, 
AND 
INFORMATION 
PRO-
GRAMS. 
Section 18 of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 
22) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 18. RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRA-
TION OF FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Commission shall establish 
and maintain, as part of its ongoing operations, research, 
development, demonstration, and information programs 
that further the purposes and objectives of this Act, in-
cluding programs that— 
‘‘(1) facilitate the understanding by the Com-
mission of emerging financial, regulatory, and com-
pliance technologies, the potential applications of the 
technologies to the transactions and markets regu-
lated by the Commission, and associated implications 
for cybersecurity, data security, and systemic risk; 
‘‘(2) inform the Commission of important tech-
nological advances and innovations affecting markets 
regulated by the Commission; 
‘‘(3) provide an environment where techno-
logical advances and innovations may be explored by 
developers, potential users, and the Commission to 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 
enter into and perform a transaction (other 
than a standard contract) on such terms and 
conditions as the Chairman of the Commission 
deems appropriate. 
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—The Commission 
may only enter into a transaction under this 
paragraph if the Chairman makes a written de-
termination that— 
‘‘(i) the transaction is only used in 
furtherance of a research and development 
plan established under subsection (c)(1); 
‘‘(ii) the transaction is executed in 
compliance with the guidance promulgated 
under subsection (c)(2); 
‘‘(iii) the Commission endeavored to 
use a competitive process, where appro-
priate, when determining the parties to the 
transaction; and 
‘‘(iv) using a standard contract to do 
so is either not feasible or not appropriate. 
‘‘(2) GIFT ACCEPTANCE AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this para-
graph, the Commission may accept and use, on 
behalf of the United States, any non-monetary 
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gift, including any provision of access, use of 
facilities, tangible or intangible personal prop-
erty, or services, that is related to— 
‘‘(i) sharing of research, data, or 
other information; 
‘‘(ii) public presentations; or 
‘‘(iii) non-commercially available serv-
ices or systems. 
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—The Commission 
may accept a gift only if the Chairman makes 
a written determination that— 
‘‘(i) the acceptance and use of the gift 
meets the requirements of this paragraph; 
‘‘(ii) the gift will be used only in fur-
therance of a research and development 
plan established under subsection (c)(1); 
‘‘(iii) the gift is accepted in compli-
ance with the guidance promulgated under 
subsection (c)(2); and 
‘‘(iv) using a standard contract or 
other transaction to acquire the gift is ei-
ther not feasible or not appropriate. 
‘‘(C) LIMITATIONS.—The Commission may 
not accept a gift if— 
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‘‘(i) conditions inconsistent with appli-
cable laws or regulations apply to the gift; 
or 
‘‘(ii) the gift is conditioned on, or will 
require, the expenditure of appropriated 
funds not available to the Commission. 
‘‘(D) SUNSET.—The authority provided by 
subparagraph (A) may not be exercised on or 
after October 1, 2024. 
‘‘(c) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN; GUID-
ANCE.—Before using the means authorized in subsection 
(b), the Commission shall— 
‘‘(1) approve a research and development plan 
that furthers the goals of this section, by estab-
lishing— 
‘‘(A) the potential areas of interest to the 
Commission; 
‘‘(B) the potential activities the Commis-
sion may undertake to investigate the potential 
areas of interest; and 
‘‘(C) a general explanation of how the 
means will assist the Commission in under-
standing the potential areas of interest; and 
‘‘(2) promulgate guidance on the appropriate 
use of the means in order to— 
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‘‘(A) prohibit the Commission or Commis-
sion staff from accepting or soliciting gifts, or 
engaging in other transactions, which would un-
duly restrict or interfere with the work of the 
Commission; 
‘‘(B) prevent the endorsement or the ap-
pearance of the endorsement by the Commis-
sion or Commission staff of the products, serv-
ices, activities, or policies of a donor or con-
tractor; and 
‘‘(C) preserve the integrity and independ-
ence of the Commission and Commission staff. 
‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 
the end of each fiscal year, the Commission shall submit 
to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the 
House of Representatives a report on all transactions en-
tered into, and all gifts accepted, under subsection (b) in 
the fiscal year, which shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) A brief description of the subject of each 
transaction or gift, with an explanation of— 
‘‘(A) its potential utility to the Commission 
or the markets regulated by the Commission; 
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‘‘(B) how it fulfills the goals and objectives 
of the research and development plan estab-
lished under subsection (c)(1); and 
‘‘(C) the status of all related projects. 
‘‘(2) The written determination required by 
subsection (b) with respect to each such transaction 
or gift. 
‘‘(3) A description of all sums expended by the 
Commission in connection with a transaction entered 
into under subsection (b)(1), and, if readily ascer-
tainable, the value of any gift accepted under sub-
section (b)(2).’’. 
Æ 
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