The Senate Agriculture Committee today approved a derivatives regulation bill which will be merged with the banking committee’s financial reform bill. The vote was 13 to 8.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) joined the committee’s Democrats in voting yes on the bill, which was written by chairman Blanche Lincoln.
Because derivatives often derive their value from commodities, they partially fall under the purview of the agriculture committee, which oversees the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
The largely unregulated trade of derivatives is considered a major contributor to the recent financial crisis.
Ranking member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said he opposed the bill because it would treat small community banks the same as large firms like Goldman Sachs. But the head of the commodities commission, and the Democrats, disagreed.
