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:
As you consider rules governing Section 1504, please be guided by important ethical considerations. The critical issue must NOT be, "What is most beneficial for oil companies?" Further, the issue is not even, "What is best for U.S. energy consumers?" But the more important issue is this, "What is right and just and fair?" It is not RIGHT, it is not JUST that the wealth of a nation can be bargained away and the people of that nation given no voice in determining the future of their own nation. We are a nation that has stood as a champion for the proper voice and representation of the people. Allowing hidden deal-making would be an abandonment of our moral authority in favor of self-serving exploitation. This path is too easily taken; and once taken, so hard to turn back. As an ethical imperative, you must be mindful of the rights and the needs of ALL. That is the only way we can truly have any moral authority in the world. Pastor Erick E. Swanson Trinity Lutheran Church Burlington, Iowa
Rev. anson