The Futures Industry Association is fuming over a proposal in President Bush's fiscal 2007 budget that would impose a fee on futures transactions. The so-called "user fee," says the FIA, would "raise the costs of doing business on regulated future exchanges and could discourage institutions and individuals from using futures contracts to manage their risks," says FIA President John Damgard. The fee reportedly will go toward funding the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which with a budget of $127 million would require a 7 cent per transaction tax to fill its coffers. The FIA is not alone in its urging the kinder, gentler president to drop the proposal; the Chicago Mercantile Exchange says the proposed fee "could negatively impact the market's ability to maintain liquidity."