Amends the Natural Gas Act and the Federal Power Act to: (1) repeal subjection of the investigations authority of FERC to the consent of the Office of Management and Budget and any other Federal agency; and (2) increase criminal penalties for violations.
Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to revise requirements for regulation of excluded swap transactions, transactions not on trading facilities, and other off-exchange transactions exempt from such Act but subject to regulations applicable to transactions on derivatives transaction execution facilities. Replaces the designation "electronic trading facilities" with "covered entities." Prescribes requirements for and limitations on CFTC regulation of covered entities. Authorizes the CFTC to establish core principles requiring a covered entity to monitor trading to prevent fraud and price distortion while ensuring adequate resources to discharge its responsibilities and comply with all reporting, notice, and registration requirements.
Revises the prohibition against fraudulent transactions to state that such prohibitions do not impose on parties to transactions subject to the rules of designated contract markets or registered derivative transaction execution facilities any legal duty to provide counterparties or other market participants with any material market information.
Sets a maximum civil penalty for commodity price manipulation of $1 million or triple the monetary gain for each violation, and a maximum ten-year prison term.