Researched by Karene Schelert and Chelsea Davis
Congress is considering legislation –  The Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act (EITDA), introduced in August 2008 by Sen. Charles Schumer of New York that would require all oil, gas, and mining companies to publicly disclose, in their reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, how much they pay to foreign governments for extracting natural resources. “In many countries, competition for control of these resources has more often fuelled corruption and inequality than growth and development.” said Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. With oil, gas, and mining companies making record profits and host governments reaping giant windfalls, it’s time to shed light on the way U.S. companies in charge of these operations in developing countries are spending their money. In Burma, Nigeria, and Angola, for example, local communities remain impoverished while governments accumulate profits from contracts with U.S. corporations. In addition, local military hired as “security” for oil operations routinely violate the human rights of local villagers, who also suffer the consequences of environmental destruction resulting from oil production.
“U.S. Urged to Keep Eye on U.S. Firms Abroad” Alison Raphael, OneWorld US,
9/25/2008 http://us.oneworld.net/article/357679-us-urged-keep-eye-us-firms-abroad
Background on the Bill: http://action.openthebooks.org/t/2217/content.jsp?content_KEY=351