White House Touts Oil Industry Transparency in Financial Reform Bill

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http://washingtonindependent.com/92417/white-house-touts-oil-industry-transparency-in-financial-reform-bill

White House Touts Oil Industry Transparency in Financial Reform Bill
By Andrew Restuccia 7/23/10 4:52 PM


The White House just released a statement touting a provision in the financial reform bill, which President Obama signed into law Wednesday, that requires companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose “how much they pay to foreign countries and the U.S. government for oil, gas, and minerals.”

The provision, the White House says, will make the oil industry more transparent.

This legislation will immediately shed light on billions in payments between multinational corporations and governments, giving citizens the information they need to monitor companies and to hold governments accountable. It will shine a sustained light on the relationship between corporations and governments in the oil and mineral sectors, and make impossible the kind of back-room dealings that cost taxpayers in lost royalties.

The White House also says that it will work to make the provision a “global standard.”

The challenge for us now is to make this a global standard. The United States is committed to working with other countries to ensure the implementation of similar disclosure requirements in other financial markets and will make this a priority in the year ahead.