I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3300 
To provide increased transparency and regulatory requirements for the trading 
of certain derivative financial instruments. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2009 
Mr. MCMAHON (for himself, Ms. BEAN, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. HIMES, 
Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. KIND, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mrs. MCCARTHY 
of New York, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. ADLER of New Jersey, Ms. KOSMAS, 
Mr. PETERS, and Mr. MURPHY of New York) 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 provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide increased transparency and regulatory require-
ments for the trading of certain derivative financial in-
struments. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Derivative Trading Accountability and Disclosure Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Derivatives are financial instruments used 
by companies to manage and mitigate risk and are 
widely used by American companies. 
(2) Derivatives are bilateral contracts that ex-
change financial risk. Over the counter (OTC) de-
rivatives are customized to a particular company’s or 
investor’s situation and needs. 
(3) Many exchange traded products are not 
customizable, and as a result, companies are unable 
to match their risks to the products that are offered 
on exchanges, which are, by necessity, highly stand-
ardized. 
(4) Clearinghouses require that participants 
pledge only liquid collateral, such as cash or short- 
term government securities, to support their posi-
tions in the market without regard to the credit 
quality of the company. However, companies need 
their most liquid assets for their working capital and 
investment purposes. Requiring a company to post 
cash as collateral means removing cash from the 
company’s core business, which hurts the company 
and its employees, as well as the overall economy of 
the United States. 
(5) Lack of transparency, inadequate margin 
and capital requirements, and poor coordination of 
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regulatory agencies to identify risks in the trading of 
derivatives, have all led to intense and unexpected 
pressure on individual financial service companies, 
and the American financial system as a whole. 
(6) The lack of oversight over the mortgage- 
backed credit default swap (CDS) market and the 
challenge corporate executives, business partners, in-
vestors and regulators had in identifying the value 
of and risks associated with various derivative mar-
kets played a central role in the near collapse of 
global financial and insurance giant American Inter-
national Group, Inc. in late 2008. 
(7) Increased regulation and oversight of the 
derivatives market is critical to achieving the goals 
of— 
(A) lowering systemic risk to the financial 
system as a whole; 
(B) promoting the efficiency and trans-
parency of derivative markets; 
(C) promoting market integrity by pre-
venting fraud, manipulation, and other market 
abuses; and 
(D) protecting the public from improper 
marketing practices. 
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