On Feb. 12, the Trump administration proposed the introduction of fees on futures market participants as a way to boost funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The proposal, which was included in the administration's fiscal 2019 budget, would generate an estimated $31.5 million for the agency, which currently has an annual budget of $250 million. The proposal immediately ran into opposition from Republicans in Congress, however. During a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Feb. 15, Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kans.), the committee chairman, said user fees would be “a tax on farmers and ranchers” and a blow to their risk management practices. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) also said he opposed the proposal. Various types of user fees and transaction taxes have been proposed by several previous administrations going back to President Reagan, but have never been approved by Congress.
