February 10, 2012
Dear SEC Commissioners,
Please do not give in to industry pressures on Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act (the Cardin-Lugar Amendment) - and make sure that ALL companies are covered, every country and every project gets reported, and loopholes that would allow large sums of money to go unreported are closed.
My Comment:
Having witnessed how oil has become a curse rather than a blessing for so many South Sudanese people inhabiting the lands where it has been discovered, I beg the SEC to follow the language of the law on Section 1504, and not to cave to the self-interested demands of the oil industry. Help make certain that the benefits of this finite resource reach the citizenry of oil- rich states rather that be siphoned off by corrupt government officials and their foreign corporate backers. Transparency benefits everyone but the corrupt! Knowledge is power for the powerless.
Sharon Hutchinson