Dems push funding bill for CFTC

House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would provide steady funding to the federal agency tasked with regulating risky transactions on Wall Street.

The Wall Street Accountability through Sustainable Funding Act would require the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to impose fees and assessments to recover the cost of appropriations to the agency, which regulates futures and options markets.

{mosads}“The near total collapse of the American economy in 2008 is a stark reminder that we need a cop on the beat to police Wall Street. Our legislation will ensure that one of the federal cops, the CFTC, has the resources it needs to do its job and protect consumers,” Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said in a statement.

Welch co-sponsored the legislation with Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Joe Courtney (D-Conn.). Similar legislation was introduced in the last Congress.

DeLauro said the measure would allow the CFTC to protect consumers, and Courtney said it would prevent “unnecessary energy price hikes.”

The CFTC says it needs more funding to carry out its responsibilities from the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Republicans have balked at those spending requests, arguing the agency already has the resources it needs.