Why the House Must Stop the Last-Second FSGG Rider on Conflict Minerals

Jun 22, 2016 | Sasha Lezhnev and Holly Dranginis
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Yesterday, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) filed an 11^th hour amendment to the financial services appropriations bill to de-fund enforcement of the conflict minerals provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The amendment was adopted by the House Rules Committee and will go to the House floor for a vote today.

Including this last-minute rider would be a serious mistake for both humanitarian and business reasons. It would allow some of the world’s deadliest armed groups to profit from lucrative conflict minerals and halt much of the progress made over the past six years to improve corporate transparency in the tech sector and a range of other industries. The amendment is number 34 in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act (the FSGG, or H.R. 5485).