Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, released a statement following the introduction of Rep. Bill Huizenga’s (R-MI) resolution to repeal Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank):

Today, the compulsive Republican Party took the first step in repealing the hard work of Democrats to make companies more accountable to American taxpayers. Section 1504 of Dodd-Frank was specifically designed to increase transparency and eliminate corruption, requiring companies to publically disclose payments made to foreign governments for oil, gas and mining resources. The American people have a right to know where Big Oil is drilling and who they’re paying, especially if it involves countries that have been hostile to the United States.

Striking Section 1504 would mean that Big Oil companies like ExxonMobil would be able to continue their questionable dealings with corrupt parties such as Vladimir Putin and Russia. In addition, ExxonMobil, which was headed by Trump-nominee for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, led the fight in opposing Section 1504 when it was first introduced.

Clearly, they didn't want the American people to know what they were up to.

This is undoubtedly another conflict of interest on account of Trump and his cronies, completely disregarding the wellbeing of hardworking American people. If Republicans in Congress are willing to eliminate transparency and ignore corruption in foreign countries, imagine what they will do, or won’t do, when it comes to addressing the shady dealings of President Trump.

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