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Enron Mail |
Tori: We have contacted Senator Gramm and Majority Leader Armey about the
calls from Ken on Monday. Because of the uncertainty of the Congressional schedule, both offices told us to call on Monday morning to schedule the call. If Ken wants to make the calls unscheduled, we expect Armey and Gramm to both be in DC by Monday morning. The numbers are as follows: Senator Gramm (202) 224-2934 Majority Leader Armey (202) 225-4000 Here are the talking points ** CONFIDENTIAL ** Talking Points on Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 Background: We have hit an impasse on the CFTC Reauthorization legislation. On legal certainty, nearly all interested parties agree. However, Senator Gramm continues to raise objections unrelated to legal certainty for our business. There are two issues (which we understand have primarily been advanced by Senator Gramm, one on bank products and one on SEC jurisdiction). Majority Leader Dick Armey is trying to gain consensus with the interested parties which include Senator Gramm, the Chairmen of the House Agriculture, Commerce, and Banking Committees, as well as the Department of Treasury, CFTC, and SEC. Meetings are occurring on a daily basis, but little concrete progress has been made since draft legislation was released on October 9. Talking Points: We need your help to resolve outstanding differences so that the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000 can pass this year. There are very few legislative days left and movement now on this legislation is essential. Do not let the Congressional calendar be the enemy of gaining legal certainty for this dynamic and growing industry. The current version of the legislation provides important legal certainty for all physical commodity transactions (not including agricultural commodities) entered into on a counterparty-to-counterparty basis or on an electronic trading facility. We strongly support these provisions. The legislation eliminates concerns that our derivatives transactions may be illegal or that our online platforms may be unregulated futures exchanges. These provisions allow our businesses to grow and innovate. Without this legislation the industry will be crippled with legal uncertainty and these platforms will develop overseas. Virtually all of the issues in this very complex legislative package have been resolved. We are indifferent to outstanding provisions, except to the extent that they impede passage of the legislation. We cannot allow the great progress made to date, fail in the end. If asked, about a possible solution to the logjam. Answer: Encourage Majority Leader Armey, Senator Gramm, and Secretary Summers to meet immediately to finalize the remaining issues. Given time constraints, if such a meeting does not occur in the next few days, there may not be enough time to pass this important legislation. Note: Congress will be going out on either October 20 or October 27.
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