Cite as: 519 U. S. 465 (1997)
Opinion of the Court
this distinction, weighs heavily against the view that any such distinction was intended by Congress.12
The CFTC argues further that the proviso properly understood aids its cause. The proviso sweeps back into the CFTC's jurisdiction otherwise exempt "transactions in foreign currency" that "involve the sale thereof for future delivery" and are "conducted on a board of trade." Since the proviso refers to futures without mentioning options, the Commission submits that the exemption itself should be read only to cover futures because Congress cannot reasonably have intended to regulate exchange trading in foreign currency futures without also regulating exchange trading in
12 Similarly, the statute refers at one point to "[t]ransactions in commodities involving the sale thereof for future delivery . . . and known as 'futures.' " 7 U. S. C. § 5 (emphasis added). Had Congress meant to maintain the Commission's distinction, we would not have expected the Legislature to use the words "in" and "involving" loosely in the same sentence to refer to futures, which the CFTC informs us are transactions "in" (but not "involving") foreign currency. Similarly, the statute refers elsewhere to "transaction[s] in an option on foreign currency." § 6c(f) (emphasis added). If Congress had spoken in the manner the CFTC suggests, that provision would instead use the phrase "transactions involving an option."
The statute's general jurisdictional provision also fails to maintain the distinction the Commission presses. The CEA provides that the CFTC "shall have exclusive jurisdiction . . . with respect to accounts, agreements (including any transaction which is of the character of, or is commonly known to the trade as, an 'option' . . .), and transactions involving contracts of sale of a commodity for future delivery." § 2(i) (emphasis added). The Commission submits that this language gives the CFTC regulatory authority over options on futures contracts, see Snider § 10.11, and argues that the use of the word "involving" is therefore in keeping with its interpretation of the statutory scheme. See Brief for CFTC 32. But § 2(i) provides the CFTC with exclusive jurisdiction over far more. Among other things, it explicitly grants jurisdiction over any "transactio[n] involving contracts of sale of a commodity for future delivery," plainly meaning at a minimum ordinary futures contracts, which the Commission otherwise insists are transactions "in" commodities.
477
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