I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6066 
To require, for the benefit of shareholders, the disclosure of payments to 
foreign governments for the extraction of natural resources, to allow 
such shareholders more appropriately to determine associated risks. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 15, 2008 
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. 
WATT, and Mr. HASTINGS of Florida) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require, for the benefit of shareholders, the disclosure 
of payments to foreign governments for the extraction 
of natural resources, to allow such shareholders more 
appropriately to determine associated risks. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Extractive Industries 
Transparency Disclosure Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Each year corporations pay billions of dol-
lars to foreign governments and their affiliates for 
natural resources, such as oil, gas, coal, copper, dia-
monds, and other extracted minerals. 
(2) Developing countries that derive a signifi-
cant portion of their revenues from natural resource 
extraction tend to have higher poverty rates, weaker 
governance, higher rates of conflict, and poorer de-
velopment records than those countries that do not 
rely on resource revenues. Since revenues derived 
from natural resource extraction are often a singular 
opportunity for some developing countries to struc-
ture programs and institutions to broaden the collec-
tive and individual wealth of their citizens, it is im-
perative that the uses of such funds are closely mon-
itored. 
(3) There is a growing consensus among oil, 
gas, and mining companies that transparency is 
good for business, since it improves the business cli-
mate in which they work and fosters good govern-
ance and accountability. 
(4) Transparency benefits shareholders because 
of their desire to know the amount of such payments 
in order to assess financial risk, compare payments 
from country to country, and assess whether such 
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payments help to create a more stable investment 
climate; moreover, undisclosed payments may be per-
ceived as corrupt and to the detriment of the image 
of the corporation. 
(5) It is in the United States best interest to 
promote transparency, since transparency contrib-
utes to a better investment climate, a more stable 
commodity supply, and greater energy security. 
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL ANNUAL REPORT DISCLOSURES RE-
QUIRED. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 13 of the Securities Ex-
change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(m) DISCLOSURE OF PAYMENT FOR RESOURCE EX-
TRACTION.— 
‘‘(1) DISCLOSURES REQUIRED.—The Commis-
sion shall modify the rules prescribed under sub-
section (b) of this section to require that each issuer 
required file an annual report with the Commission 
shall disclose in such report the total amounts, for 
each foreign country and for each category of pay-
ment for each foreign country, of any and all pay-
ments made, directly or indirectly, by the issuer or 
any of its subsidiaries, to an agency or instrumen-
tality of a foreign government— 
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‘‘(A) for natural resources in a foreign 
country; or 
‘‘(B) in any connection with the extraction 
of natural resources from a foreign country. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section: 
‘‘(A) AGENCY OR INSTRUMENTALITY OF A 
FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘agency or 
instrumentality 
of 
a 
foreign 
government’ 
means— 
‘‘(i) a foreign government; 
‘‘(ii) a department, ministry, agency, 
office, officer, employee, legislator, rep-
resentative, subdivision, or agent of a for-
eign government; 
‘‘(iii) a person that is directly or indi-
rectly owned, controlled or employed by 
one or more of the persons or entities de-
scribed in clause (i) or (ii); 
‘‘(iv) an account, trust, or other de-
vice held for the benefit of any of the per-
sons or entities described in clause (i), (ii), 
or (iii); or 
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