Digital commodity retail advocate

The Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 24. Office of the digital commodity retail advocate (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Chairman The term Chairman means the Chairman of the Commission. (2) Office The term Office means the Office of the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate established by subsection (b). (3) Retail participant The term retail participant means a person that— (A) is not an eligible contract participant; (B) is participating in a spot or cash digital commodity market; and (C) has engaged or is engaging in a digital commodity transaction with a person registered with the Commission. (b) Office established There is established within the Commission the Office of the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate. (c) Digital Commodity Retail Advocate (1) In general The Digital Commodity Retail Advocate shall— (A) report directly to the Chairman; and (B) be appointed by the Chairman from among individuals with experience in advocating for the interests of digital commodity market retail participants. (2) Compensation The annual rate of pay for the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate shall be equal to the highest rate of annual pay for other senior executives who report to the Chairman. (3) Limitation on service An individual who serves as the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate may not be employed by the Commission— (A) during the 2-year period ending on the date of appointment as Digital Commodity Retail Advocate; or (B) during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the person ceases to serve as the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate. (d) Functions of the digital commodity retail advocate The Digital Commodity Retail Advocate shall— (1) assist retail participants in resolving significant problems they may have with the Commission or a registered futures association; (2) identify areas in which retail participants would benefit from changes in the regulations of the Commission or the rules of registered futures associations; (3) identify problems that retail participants have with persons registered with the Commission; (4) analyze the potential impact on retail participants of— (A) proposed regulations of the Commission; and (B) proposed rules of registered futures associations; (5) to the extent practicable, propose to the Commission changes in the regulations or orders of the Commission, and to Congress any legislative, administrative, or personnel changes, that may be appropriate— (A) to mitigate problems identified under this subsection; and (B) to promote the interests of retail participants; (6) conduct research to identify and understand issues that affect retail participants; and (7) cooperate with and provide assistance to the Office of Customer Education and Outreach to conduct initiatives and outreach for retail participants. (e) Access to documents (1) In general At the discretion of the Chairman, the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate shall have full access to the documents of the Commission and registered futures associations as necessary to carry out the functions of the Office. (2) Effect Nothing in the subsection authorizes the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate, or staff of the Office, to have access to, or to release publicly or internally within the Commission, proprietary or sensitive market data. (3) Policies and procedures The Office shall establish and make public on the website of the Commission policies and procedures in place to safeguard the confidentiality of any documents the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate or staff of the Office has access to. (f) Annual reports (1) Report on objectives (A) In general Not later than June 30 of each year, the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report describing the objectives of the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate for the following fiscal year. (B) Contents Each report required under subparagraph (A) shall contain full and substantive analysis and explanation. (2) Report on activities (A) In general Not later than December 31 of each year, the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report describing the activities of the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate during the immediately preceding fiscal year. (B) Contents Each report required under subparagraph (A) shall include— (i) appropriate statistical information and full and substantive analysis; (ii) information on steps that the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate has taken during the reporting period to improve— (I) services to and communication with retail participants; and (II) the responsiveness of the Commission and registered futures associations to retail participant concerns; (iii) a summary of the most serious problems reported to the Office or the Commission by retail participants during the reporting period; (iv) an inventory of the items described in clause (iii) that includes— (I) identification of any action taken by the Commission or a registered futures association and the result of that action; (II) the period of time that each item has remained on the inventory; and (III) for items with respect to which no action has been taken, the reasons for inaction, and an identification of any official who is responsible for the action; (v) recommendations for such administrative and legislative actions as may be appropriate to resolve problems encountered by retail participants; and (vi) any other information, as determined appropriate by the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate. (C) Independence Each report required under subparagraph (A) shall be provided directly to the committees described in that subparagraph without any prior review or comment from the Commission, any Commissioner, any other officer or employee of the Commission, or the Office of Management and Budget. (D) Confidentiality No report required under subparagraph (A) may contain confidential information. (g) Ombudsman (1) Appointment Not later than 180 days after the date on which the first Digital Commodity Retail Advocate is appointed under subsection (c)(1)(B), the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate shall appoint an Ombudsman, who shall report directly to the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate. (2) Duties The Ombudsman appointed under paragraph (1) shall— (A) act as a liaison between the Commission and any retail participant in resolving problems the retail participant may have with the Commission or a registered futures association; (B) review and make recommendations regarding policies and procedures to encourage persons to present questions to the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate regarding compliance with this Act; and (C) establish safeguards to maintain the confidentiality of communications between the persons described in subparagraph (B) and the Ombudsman. (3) Limitation (A) Personnel In carrying out the duties of the Ombudsman under paragraph (2), the Ombudsman shall utilize personnel of the Commission, to the extent practicable. (B) Effect Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as replacing, altering, or diminishing the activities of any ombudsman or similar office of any other agency. (4) Report (A) Report on activities The Ombudsman shall submit to the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate an annual report that describes the activities and evaluates the effectiveness of the Ombudsman during the preceding 1-year period. (B) Submission The Digital Commodity Retail Advocate shall include the reports required under subparagraph (A) in the reports required to be submitted by the Digital Commodity Retail Advocate under subsection (f)..