Date: 2011-06-14
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise to support the gentlelady from Connecticuts amendment and thank her for her vision. I thank my good friend from Georgia who is the chairman of this committee. and I thank the manager who has represented our good friends very well tonight. I thank them for their courtesies. And I thank our ranking member. Mr. FARR. for his passion about ensuring that every person in America has an opportunity for good and healthy food. The Agriculture Department and the work that the Agriculture Department does is both domestic and international. But today we rise because there is an inequity and an unfairness. It is complicated to discuss something called the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. What is that and how does that have an impact on making sure that Americans have a quality of life that they are deserving of. hardworking. everyday Americans that get up at the sign of dawn and carpool their children and go to work and return at the end and attempt to be able to provide for their families? The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is that arbiter. Its the entity that will implement the consumer protection and armor that was given during the DoddFrank legislation. And how in the world can you work on behalf of consumers and Americans if the legislation that is before us obliterates this commission. eliminates 600 positions that would allow these hardworking Americans to gain what they deserve? And what is that? A better quality of life. I am glad my good friend from New York cited the energy industry as recognizing themselves that the price of oil has gone beyond reason. that the gasoline prices have gone beyond reason. But who is gaining? Speculators whom you cannot see. You couldnt find a speculator if you tried. And that is the purpose of a commodity trading commission. which is to find the individuals that want to cripple the system and make sure that the American public suffers. Look at this document that Im holding in my hand. It lists the States and the districts that have the highest degree of poverty. States and districts that. in essence. have individuals who do not eat. for example. who have to borrow from one payment or one bill to take care of another need. So maybe the electric bill goes or the home mortgage or the rent goes so they can actually feed their families. Or they put the car up and cannot get to work because they cannot afford the gasoline. This is what the underfunding of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will do. It will pile onto people who cannot afford any more pileon. 600 workers taken away from implementing legislation and laws that protect the consumer from the daggers of high gasoline prices. the daggers from high food prices. and the daggers from a poor quality of life. There are people in the United States that go hungry. And in talking to seniors while I was home. you cannot understand their life until you talk to them one on one. When they get their benefits that they worked so hard for and they have to parcel out dollars for their needs and they go to the grocery store and the food prices are soaring. that is speculation. Thats the speculators raising food prices. So seniors cant eat. Families that are on a single income. disabled persons. single parents. they cant have a nutritious meal. compounding them with the high costs of moving around. gasoline prices. the high cost of rent. and. of course. the difficulty sometimes in finding work. Let me say this. This administration and Democrats have been working hard to shove jobs out on this economy. And if you listen to the economists. they believe that as bad as it is and how sympathetic we are and how we know that we cant rest. that weve got to put a jobs bill out here. there is some suggestion that those businesses will be hiring because weve tried to make sure that we study the economy. Do you think theyll be hiring with 600 jobs thrown out of the commodity commission that is supposed to regulate to ensure that consumers can get the best deal. that if you do get a job. you can pay for the gasoline. that if youre in need of a healthy meal. you can go to a grocery store and actually pay for it because the speculators havent raised the prices of food? This is what we are talking about when we are arguing against the underlying bill and the elimination of $136 million to devastate this commission so that consumers cannot be protected. Mr. Chairman. its time to recognize whos boss. It is the American people. And I like them being a boss. Im going to stand with my boss. the good boss. and fight for them to be protected. This bill does not do that. I yield back the balance of my time.