Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and a coalition of Members of Congress continue to show leadership on bringing peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo. On April 14, the US District Court of Appeals issued its decision on a case challenging the validity of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) conflict minerals rule that originated from Section 1502 of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act. The appeals court upheld most aspects of the rule in a largely favorable judgment. However, it found the requirement for companies to report whether or not their materials are "DRC conflict-free" to be unconstitutional under the first amendment. There are still a number of phases of litigation that will answer pending questions, including whether and how the rule might change in light of this finding.
Meanwhile, the looming June 2 deadline for companies to file their reports remains unchanged. As of now, companies must still comply with most aspects of the rule's reporting requirements, including investigating the origin of their minerals and reporting on what activities they are undertaking to ensure their minerals supply has not contributed to the financing of armed groups in the Great Lakes region. However, the SEC now has the option to voluntarily stay the rule, which would put the rule on hold and allow companies to abstain from filing their reports until further notice.
Today, 12 members of Congress led by Senator Durbin issued a letter to the SEC, strongly encouraging it to proceed with the implementation of the rule. The letter discourages the SEC from putting the rule on hold with a stay, insisting that companies should still have to report on the aspects of the rule that the court upheld, ...
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