CFTC Office of the Chief Economist Act of 2026

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

<DOC>

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;''.
                                 <all>