Conflict Minerals

March 4, 2015 | Written by GreenSoft Technology, Inc.

House Republicans Urge SEC to Drop Fight Over Conflict Minerals Rule

Congressional Republicans in the U.S. have sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urging the SEC to drop their effort to force manufacturers to report whether or not their products are found to be conflict free.

In April 2014, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a petition by the SEC for a rehearing on the court's September 2014 decision that struck down provisions of the conflict minerals legislation contained in the Dodd-Frank Act.

The initial court ruling agreed with the appeal by the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S Chamber of Commerce that the provisions of the legislation requiring manufacturers to declare that their products "have not been found to be DRC conflict free" is a violation of the First Amendment because it implies the manufacturer "has blood on their hands."

The SEC had appealed this decision and a rehearing, which has yet to be held, was granted. But last week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), along with Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), and Ed Royce (R-CA), sent a letter to the SEC Chair Mary Jo White urging the SEC to abandon the agency's appeal.

The letter asks White to report all the funds and time that have been spent defending the law since 2012. The letter also quotes White's own comments about the conflict minerals legislation not fitting into the SEC's core mandate as an agency.

The SEC has not yet responded to a request for comment by Bloomberg, which first published this story here.