Ag Cmte Approves H.R. 2620 & H.R. 2647

Video Description

On June 17, 2015, House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 2620, a bill that amends the United States Cotton Futures Act to allow for the development of certain new cotton futures contracts. Current law requires that 100% of the cotton tendered under a U.S.-listed cotton futures contract be sampled and graded (classed) by the USDA. This restriction has hampered the development of new cotton futures contracts designed to hedge against market risks for foreign-grown cotton or U.S. cotton merchandised abroad. H.R. 2620 would amend the law to allow U.S.-based futures exchanges flexibility in handling foreign-grown cotton and foreign delivery points. In the same meeting, the committee approved H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act, a comprehensive bill aimed at expediting and improving forest management activities in federal forests. The bill builds upon the work of previous Congresses to address disastrous consequences of catastrophic wildfire, insect and disease infestations, and other threats to our nation’s forests. It also seeks to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands.