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Vote on Energy Bill to Increase CFTC Authority Postponed

The House Agriculture Committee chose not to vote on H.R. 6334, the Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008 on Tuesday.  Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., announced that more time for hearings in July was needed to fully delve into the possibility of speculation in energy markets impacting prices.

The bill would give additional power to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. However; CFTC Acting Chairman Walter Lukken testified that supply and demand is the cause behind spiraling costs of crude oil not speculation in the energy markets.

"We have no evidence that excessive speculation is taking place," Lukken says.

Peterson says the additional hearings would thoughtfully and carefully examine speculation in the energy markets and separate the facts from the rhetoric.