,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dfba ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #ba1 #bjbf,mr4 ,risch 7for himself and ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,commodity ,exchange ,act to reduce systemic risk while increasing geographical diversity and competition with respect to depositories for the storage of precious metals1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,system ,integrity through ,licensed ,vault ,expansion and ,resilience ,act or the ,,silver ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,precious metals exchanges currently require physically traded metals to be stored within close proximity to ,new ,york ,city4 7#b7 ,geographic concentration creates systemic risk vulnerabilities1 reduces available liquidity1 and increases the cost to market participants4 7#c7 ,recent liquidity events in global metals markets underscore the need to minimize regulatory barriers that reduce the available supply of metals to the publicly traded marketplace4 7#d7 ,notwithstanding the current limited supply1 the security standards of existing vaults supporting publicly traded exchanges are outstanding and have enhanced the confidence of market participants4 7#e7 ,market liquidity and participant confidence will be enhanced by the addition of storage vaults of relative scale and commercial importance in the marketplace4 7#f7 ,additional supply in lower-cost markets1 especially markets that are near hubs of precious metals activity and interstate transportation networks1 would also reduce storage costs1 enhance competition in the storage marketplace1 and promote greater market access to investors4 7#g7 ,it is in the public interest for systemically important financial market utilities to provide a clear and transparent selection process for precious metals storage facilities within their network4 #c4 ,precious metals depositories used in connection with futures contracts ,section #e;b7c77#b7 of the ,commodity ,exchange ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #g;a-#a7;c77#b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,e77vii71 by inserting 1 including risks related to the geographic concentration of depositories for the storage of gold1 silver1 platinum1 and palladium 7referred to in this paragraph as precious metals71 after clause 7vi72 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,f7-- 7,a7 by redesignating clause 7iii7 as clause 7iv72 and 7,b7 by inserting after clause 7ii7 the following3 7iii7 ,approval of precious metals depositories 7,i7 ,in general ,a derivatives clearing organization that clears agreements1 contracts1 transactions1 or swaps that can result in the physical delivery of precious metals and is a designated financial market utility 7as defined in section #hjc of the ,dodd-,frank ,wall ,street ,reform and ,consumer ,protection ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #edfb77 7referred to in this paragraph as a systemically important derivatives clearing organization7 shall-- 7aa7 develop1 publish1 and employ objective and transparent criteria in evaluating and selecting depositories for the storage of precious metals used in connection with a contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery2 and 7bb7 provide a formal process for those depositories to apply for that selection4 7,,ii7 ,selection factors ,in selecting depositories under subclause 7,i71 a systemically important derivatives clearing organization shall-- 7aa7 assess and account for1 among other factors1 geographic diversity1 competition1 risk management1 storage costs to members and participants1 and systemic risk implications2 and 7bb7 approve new depositories in the context of a public interest in increased geographic diversity1 increased liquidity1 market resiliency1 market access1 competition1 and cost efficiency1 consistent with appropriate security and quality standards4 7,,iii7 ,geographical requirement 7aa7 ,in general ,a systemically important derivatives clearing organization shall select at least #b depositories described in subclause 7,i7 in each time zone described in item 7bb74 7bb7 ,time zone ,a time zone referred to in item 7aa7 is each of the following3 7,,aa7 ,eastern time4 7,,bb7 ,central time4 7,,cc7 ,mountain time4 7,,dd7 ,pacific time4 2 7#c7 in subparagraph 7,i7-- 7,a7 in clause 7ii77,,ii71 by striking and at the end2 7,b7 in clause 7iii71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7iv7 periodically assess the ease of access for market participants with respect to the physical settlement of any commodity1 regardless of the geographic location within the ,united ,states1 to ensure system availability and resiliency4 2 7#d7 in subparagraph 7,l77iii7-- 7,a7 in subclause 7,,iv71 by striking and at the end2 7,b7 by redesignating subclause 7,v7 as subclause 7,,vi72 and 7,c7 by inserting after subclause 7,,iv7 the following3 7,v7 in the case of a systemically important derivatives clearing organization1 conditions for applying to1 and receiving approval from1 the systemically important derivatives clearing organization as a metal service provider1 such as a depository for the storage of precious metals2 and 2 and 7#e7 in subparagraph 7,n77i71 by inserting 1 including with respect to the approval of a metal service provider1 such as a depository for the storage of precious metals after trade4