Waters Pushes Back Republican Effort to Undo Dodd-Frank

Video Description

Mr. Speaker: I rise in opposition to HR 1613. I oppose the bill because of the exemption it includes for companies from the transparency requirements under SECTION 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 1504 of Dodd-Frank requires companies to disclose payments they make to governments for oil, gas and mining resources. It covers companies listed on U.S. exchanges, including U.S., Chinese, Brazilian, Canadian, European, Australian and other companies. Section 1504 has a long legislative history. The Financial Services Committee held its first hearing on extractive industry transparency in 2007. In 2008, our Committee held a legislative hearing where we debated the specific provisions that eventually became law. The Senate introduced similar legislation, and they held hearings. The provision was adopted into the Dodd-Frank Act through a bipartisan amendment. Then, before issuing a Rule to implement the law, the Securities and Exchange Commission solicited input, held meetings, and considered hundreds of comments from industry, trade groups, members of Congress, and civil society. Section 1504 was very carefully considered by Congress, over the course of several years, with input from all quarters. It is now the law of the land. Let me tell you why it's important. Public disclosure of extractive industry payments can help diminish the political instability caused by opaque governance, which is not only a threat to investment, but also to our own national security. Resource revenue transparency also allows shareholders to make better-informed assessments of opportunity costs, threats to corporate reputation, and the long-term prospects of the companies in which they invest. Countries rich in natural resources are often developing countries that are politically unstable, many rife with corruption, with a history of civil conflict fueled, in part, by natural resources. Opening the extractive industries to greater public scrutiny is key to increasing civil society participation in these countries. This is crucial in order for citizens in resource-rich countries to be able to demand greater accountability from their governments for spending that serves the public interest. This, in turn, can help reduce poverty and create more stable, democratic governments. It can also help create more stable business environments. The provision in HR 1613 that exempts companies from the disclosure requirements under Section 1504 is entirely unnecessary. The bipartisan Senate version of this bill includes no such exemption. Also, the US-Mexico Agreement explicitly respects the domestic laws of both countries. So it already accommodates the Dodd-Frank disclosure requirement. Moreover, there are no laws in Mexico that would prohibit the disclosure of company payments. Most importantly, let's listen to what the Administration has to say about this. After all, this Administration negotiated the terms of the Agreement with Mexico. The Administration very much wants legislation to implement the Agreement. And they know what they need to do this. And they don't want this bill. The White House issued a statement strongly opposing HR 1613 precisely because of the provision waiving the requirements for the public disclosure of extractive payments to governments. The exemption in this bill is nothing more than an effort to undermine transparency, and to undo good public policy that has become an international standard. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill in its current form. Members deserve the opportunity to vote on a clean bill that they can support, and I urge the leadership to give the House that opportunity. I yield back the balance of my time.