In remarks at a global seminar, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind) said that a full commitment to international transparency is vital, not only to provide taxpayers a clear picture of how their money is being used, but also to reinforce U.S. leadership in transparent economic development. Transparency helps level the playing field for U.S. companies, counters the propensity of resource-rich developing countries toward wasteful spending, and combats the corruption that the World Bank has identified as “the single biggest obstacle to economic and social development.”
Toward this end, the Senator urged the SEC to move forward with full implementation of the 2010 Cardin-Lugar provision in the Dodd-Frank Act requiring all companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange to publish their payments to foreign governments for oil, natural gas, and mineral development. Failure to fully implement Cardin-Lugar, warned the Senator, would squander an opportunity to transform the development scenarios of resource-rich countries mired in poverty.
Toward this end, the Senator urged the SEC to move forward with full implementation of the 2010 Cardin-Lugar provision in the Dodd-Frank Act requiring all companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange to publish their payments to foreign governments for oil, natural gas, and mineral development. Failure to fully implement Cardin-Lugar, warned the Senator, would squander an opportunity to transform the development scenarios of resource-rich countries mired in poverty.