WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House passed H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-Users Relief Act, on June 9, a bill reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Last week also saw House passage of three other agricultural measures: the Mandatory Price Reporting Act, the U.S. Grain Standards Act Reauthorization Act and the National Forest Foundation Reauthorization Act. The bills now all move to the Senate, where they were read and referred to its Agriculture Committee.

Though passed by a vote of 246-171, the CFTC reauthorization saw opposition from Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.

He objected to portions of the bill that he sees as weakening the CFTC’s ability to regulate financial markets.

"I am very concerned that H.R. 2289 will open the door to the types of things that created the financial mess we’re just beginning to get ourselves out of," said Peterson.

House Agriculture Chair Michael Conaway (R-Texas) said regulation reductions mandated in the bill would help markets run more smoothly.

"H.R. 2289 builds on the work of the previous two Congresses to reauthorize the CFTC and contains important customer protections, enhances the Commission’s cost-benefit analysis requirements and provides relief for end-users from burdensome requirements," he said.

The CFTC’s authority goes beyond commodity markets. The 2011 Dodd-Frank Act expanded the scope of CFTC oversight to the swaps market, the trading of derivatives involving cash flows from various financial instruments. The $400 billion swaps market is about 12 times the size of the total futures market for all U.S. commodities, according to the CFTC.

Part of the House reauthorization included language designed to help ease regulatory burdens on commodity end users, such as grain handlers. House Democrat and Republican leaders apparently agreed on that portion of the bill.

"Let me be clear, I don’t have an issue with many of the provisions relevant to end-user protections," said Peterson. "Dodd-Frank states very clearly that end-users were not the problem and the CFTC has been very receptive to that fact."

On June 10, the Senate read H.R. 2289 twice and referred the bill to its Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

The House also passed H.R. 2051, the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2015. The law, first passed in 1999, mandated price reporting for live cattle, boxed beef and live hogs and allowed the USDA to establish mandatory reporting for lamb sales.

North Dakota’s Burton Pfliger, president of the American Sheep Industry Assoc., applauded this year’s bill for updates that reflect changes in the lamb industry since 1999.

"The sheep industry appreciates the inclusion of amendments for lamb that increase the number of firms reporting both American lamb and imported lamb pricing," he explained.

The House reauthorized funding to administrate federal law that mandates items as basic to agriculture as the definition of U.S. #2 Yellow Corn. The U.S. Grain Standards Act, first passed in 1916, establishes federal marketing standards for grains and oilseeds.

Most of the law is permanently authorized, including the USDA authority to establish grain marketing standards and inspect exported grain. H.R. 2088, the U.S. Grain Standards Act Reauthorization Act of 2015, reauthorizes some sections of the law related to grain exports.

Specifically, the bill addresses potential future disruptions in export shipments.

That language was spurred by inspection delays at a United Grain terminal in Vancouver, Wash., associated with the 2014 labor dispute between exporters and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Headquartered in Missoula, Mont., the National Forest Foundation conducts forest and grassland conservation with private and public funds.

H.R. 2394, the National Forest Foundation Reauthorization Act, reauthorizes USDA to provide matching funds to the NFF.

The NFF received government grants of $3.815 million in 2013. According to its annual report, one of its most unique recent programs is the restoration of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois, an hour from Chicago. The House bill would extend fund reauthorization through the end of the 2018 fiscal year, bringing consistency between most of the foundation’s programs and the current bill.

Like last week’s other bills, H.R. 2394 was referred to the Senate Agriculture Committee.

"I am hopeful that the Senate will take up these bipartisan bills in a timely fashion so the U.S. agriculture industry is able to continue producing high-quality food and fiber for the world," said Conaway.