Senators Want SEC To Explain Delay On Anti-Corruption Rule

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/15/senators-want-sec-to-expl_n_849827.html

The bipartisan Senate sponsors of an anti-corruption measure are demanding to know why the Securities and Exchange Commission has unilaterally delayed its enactment.

The SEC had a Friday deadline to finalize rules requiring companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges to disclose how much they pay foreign governments to acquire drilling and mining rights in their countries, but it was announced that the deadline had been postponed.

Championed by Sens. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the measure was included in July's Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and is intended to make it more difficult for foreign leaders to hide and pocket the funds that energy and mining companies pay them.

Despite a clear statutory deadline of April 15, however, when the commission most recently updated is calendar for Dodd-Frank rulemakings, the final rulemaking for the disclosure measure had slipped until sometime between August and December.