From: Jacqueline Quinones
Sent: February 4, 2016
To: rule-comments@sec.gov
Subject: File No. S7-25-15

Dear SEC Commissioners:
Dear SEC Commissioners: I have been following the very long saga that is the Dodd-Frank Bill and Section 1504 since 2010, when the bill was first passed. I have a 401(k) with my employer and that account is invested in a number of companies in the extractives sector. As an individual I care about the well-being of people around the world and believe that transparency can be a powerful tool in their favor. But more importantly, as an investor in oil, gas, and mining companies, I believe that they can only be better served by providing public and disaggregated information about the payments they make to governments. It is unfortunate that this is not widely practiced on a voluntary basis, and is therefore something that I support being required by law. Corruption is known to be one of the biggest inhibitors to economic growth and political stability around the world. Allowing governments to accept payments for resources that rightfully belong to an entire nation without sharing how much they are getting is a certain recipe for bad governance and a short-changing of entire populations – many of them in great need of basic services and development. Transparency around payments related to natural resources will help citizens to hold their governments accountable, and empowering them to fight for their rights is a good long-term decision for companies as well as for the United States. I sincerely believe that providing citizens with this kind of information will only support long-term political stability and economic growth. Too many resource rich countries have seen their natural wealth depleted, while most of the population is excluded from its benefits and languishes in a nation that does not even provide the most basic of goods that would facilitate the kind of far-reaching prosperity we all hope to see in the world. The kind of information that 1504 would require is critical to any individual seeking to make informed decisions about the companies they are investing in. I therefore urge you to issue a final rule to implement Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act that requires public, project-level disclosure for all payments above $100,000 that companies make to governments related to the commercial development of oil, gas or minerals, with no exemptions. Sincerely, Jacqueline Quinones