[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7488 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7488

  To create an Office of the Chief Economist at the Commodity Futures 
                          Trading Commission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 2026

  Mr. Bresnahan (for himself and Mrs. McClain Delaney) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To create an Office of the Chief Economist at the Commodity Futures 
                          Trading Commission.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``CFTC Office of the Chief Economist 
Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST.

    (a) In General.--Section 2(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 
U.S.C. 2(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(16) Office of the chief economist.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--There is established in the 
                Commission the Office of the Chief Economist.
                    ``(B) Head.--The Office of the Chief Economist 
                shall be headed by the Chief Economist.
                    ``(C) Functions.--The Chief Economist shall serve 
                as economic advisor to the Commission and perform 
                functions such as economic analysis, regulatory cost-
                benefit analysis, and research.
                    ``(D) Professional staff.--
                            ``(i) Appointment authority.--The 
                        Commission may appoint an individual to a 
                        position described in clause (ii)--
                                    ``(I) in accordance with the 
                                statutes, rules, and regulations 
                                governing appointments to positions in 
                                the excepted service (as defined in 
                                section 2103 of title 5, United States 
                                Code); and
                                    ``(II) without regard to any 
                                statute, rule, or regulation governing 
                                appointments to positions in the 
                                competitive service (as defined in 
                                section 2102 of such title).
                            ``(ii) Position described.--A position 
                        referred to in clause (i) is a position at the 
                        Commission that--
                                    ``(I) serves the Office of the 
                                Chief Economist;
                                    ``(II) is in the competitive 
                                service (as defined in section 2102 of 
                                such title); and
                                    ``(III)(aa) is an economist, 
                                research analyst, or data specialist; 
                                or
                                    ``(bb) requires specialized 
                                knowledge of futures, swaps, or 
                                commodities markets, financial and 
                                capital market formation or regulation, 
                                financial market structures or 
                                surveillance, data collection or 
                                analysis, or information technology.
                            ``(iii) Rule of construction.--The 
                        appointment of a candidate to a position under 
                        authority of this subsection shall not be 
                        considered to cause such position to be 
                        converted from the competitive service to the 
                        excepted service.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 15(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
19(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, after coordinating 
        with the Office of the Chief Economist,'' before ``shall'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``futures markets'' 
        and inserting ``markets under the jurisdiction of the 
        Commission'';
            (3) in paragraph (2), by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 
        and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F); and
            (4) in paragraph (2), by inserting after subparagraph (C) 
        the following:
                    ``(D) considerations of market liquidity;''.
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