H.R. 7488

[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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