NEWS FLASH

GOP Votes To Slash Funding For Oil Speculation Watchdog | After two long days of debate, House Republicans narrowly passed H.R. 2112, the FY 2012 agriculture appropriations bill that  slashes funding for programs for lower-income women and children. The Hill reported that the bill also contained “a $30 million cut to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),” which is the federal agency charged with policing the nation’s commodities markets, including the oil market. All but one Republican voted against a motion to recommit the bill with instructions to increase funding to the CFTC.