D.C. 'busy season' keeps FEI on the move.

• Author: Hollein, Marie N.
• Position: FROM THE PRESIDNT - Financial Executives International

There's no question that tougher business regulation in Washington, D.C, has been at the lop of the discussion heap since the economic meltdown of 2008, The great recession spawned aggressive regulatory action, most notably the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. But, as we've seen, the result of some of these new written and unwritten rules has been onerous and potentially debilitating for many businesses.

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So, I've been spending a lot of time in Washington these days, along with FEI's staff. Debate over business-related legislation is fiery and constant--even if it feels sometimes as though very little is actually being accomplished. On one extremely vital issue, however, we had the chance to meet recently with key stakeholders and exert influence on behalf of our members.

In early October, members of FEI participated with the Coalition for Derivatives End-Users in meetings in Washington. This "fly-in" was designed to allow corporate treasurers from more than 15 companies to voice concerns to members of Congress and their staffs regarding the direction of proposed rules governing the over-the-counter derivatives market.

Our group met with Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Rep. Colin Peterson (D-Minn.), the chairman and ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, as well as Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, along with senior staff from the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees.

The treasurers in attendance urged the members of Congress and their staffs to throw their support behind the proposed Grimm-Peters bill (H.R. 2682), which would exempt end users from burdensome margin requirements, and the Stivers-Fudge bill (H.R. 2779) that would exclude companies' inter-affiliate swap transactions from requirements that would already be imposed on the centralized street-facing entity.

Both pieces of legislation command bipartisan support. But it soon became clear from our conversations with the congressional representatives that the more they hear from affected companies, the better the chance they will back these legislative...