An amendment to the Energy Bill that would have regulated the energy and metals derivatives markets has been laid to rest. Earlier today, Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) withdrew her amendment following the defeat of a cloture petition, which she filed after Sen. Harry Reid (R-Nev.) offered an amendment to the measure on Monday. Reid's amendment was passed today and effectively stripped the metals oversight provision from the Feinstein amendment.
If successful, the cloture petition would have compelled the Senate to further debate and to vote on the Feinstein amendment, thus precluding the Republican filibuster that many in Congress anticipated.
The original amendment introduced on March 7 called for the oversight of all commodity and financial derivatives by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while a weaker version introduced on March 19 exempts non-commodity financial derivatives such as single stock futures and standard options from regulation.
