BREAKING: Victory for Transparency!!
Big, big news: The Cardin-Lugar Transparency amendment just passed in the Senate!
Late in May, ONE put out an urgent call to all our members to call their Senators and urge them to vote in favor of including the Cardin-Lugar Transparency amendment to the Senate Financial Regulation bill. Our members generated more than 1,000 calls to the Senate and helped secure enough support for its sponsors, Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), to be confident of winning the vote. However, due to a procedural motion in the Senate, we were denied the opportunity to have the vote. Since then, we’ve been working furiously toward the inclusion of the Cardin/Lugar amendment after the House and Senate met in June to iron out differences between their two bills and settle on a final version. Championed by Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the amendment was accepted in conference and was part of the final bill, which has since passed the House.
The transparency amendment is ONE’s biggest effort to fight corruption in poor countries to date. Through this amendment, ONE members are working to fight corruption and ensure that payments received by their governments and natural resources, go toward meeting Millennium Development Goals like health care, schools and clean water, not into the pockets of corrupt public officials. It makes it mandatory for all companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange to disclose what they pay to foreign governments for extracting oil and gas or mining gold and diamonds. In essence, we are helping to shed light on the finances of some of the most corrupt and closed regimes in the world–including Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan– through the multinational corporations that do business with them.
ONE members’ calls to their senators made an enormous difference in our efforts to get the amendment included in the final bill. Today is a big victory not just for the people who will be positively affected by this important legislation, but for everyone who believes in transparency and accountability. Go ahead and give yourselves a pat on the back!
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July 15, 2010 at 4:07 pm
I’m feeling pretty proud right now. It’s good to be part of ONE.
July 15, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Woo hoo! What a cool moment.
July 15, 2010 at 4:51 pm
This is big big news! Thank you!
July 15, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Very Very Cool !
July 15, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Great work, everyone! Such an awesome win.
July 15, 2010 at 4:58 pm
WAY TO GO TO ALL OF US WHO SIGNED THIS INTO ACTION !!!
I’m so proud to be be part of ONE.ORG
July 15, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Great news! Very proud to be a small part of ONE — when we can act as ONE, we should…
July 15, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Progress …. congratulations!
July 15, 2010 at 5:21 pm
This feels so great I am a proud member of ONE !!
Excellent Work to All that Called and Won!
July 15, 2010 at 5:24 pm
I just feel so proud to be able to be a part of ONE!
July 15, 2010 at 5:24 pm
This is an amazing accomplishment!
July 15, 2010 at 5:24 pm
I am so proud and so honored to be part of what ONE is doing!
Lynn
July 15, 2010 at 5:27 pm
This is an amazing accomplishment!
I am so honored & proud to be a part of ONE & Global history!
YAY!!!
July 15, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Wonderful, this is a big win for the impoverished countries. It’s nice to have a victory every now and then!
-Proud ONE member
July 15, 2010 at 5:36 pm
This is a really important and commonsense policy—congrats to everyone who helped make it happen!
July 15, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Let the light shine in! I hope everyone post this to their Facebook page and their Twitter feed!
July 15, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Kudos everyone! So much is achievable when we act as ONE
Thanks for helping to make this world a better place.
July 15, 2010 at 7:28 pm
OUTSTANDING!! This is a huge accomplishment.
July 15, 2010 at 10:00 pm
I am so proud to be a member of ONE, together united with love and strength which brings unity and carries the messages strong. God bless everyone that participated.
July 16, 2010 at 12:33 am
Just when I was getting seriously frustrated. GREAT NEWS!
July 16, 2010 at 3:25 am
I am proud to be part of the ONE! I was wearing my ONE band this whole week! I am also the president for the Kauai Independent Food Bank here on Kauai, Hawaii. I know what proverty is and I am happy to do my part.
Mahalo everyone who help make it real!
July 16, 2010 at 4:04 am
Good way for journey of success
July 16, 2010 at 4:05 am
Sorry but how did ONE contribute to this? I think a little recognition should go to Publish What You Pay who’s been campaigning on this since before ONE’s creation… I wasn’t even aware ONE was involved in this effort…
July 16, 2010 at 11:01 am
About the Cardin-Lugar Transparency amendment. I think it is well-intended legislation. I like the idea that corporations and dictators will be exposed for their greed, corruption and theft of natural resources.
But I seriously question the benefit to the poor or to any of the citizens in many of those developing nations. I have lived in some of them, and am well aware of how things work in a typical third world country.
We tend to ASSUME that everyone else in the world lives in a democracy where you can voice your opinions without being imprisoned or killed for it or just having your whole family taken out and shot for opening up your mouth. We can open our mouths here in America, to a greater extent than in any of those countries. Secondly, the citizens of those countries already know their governments DO NOT represent them – in fact, those governments, quite often, are nothing more than a front for the rich and powerful few. Bribery is the only way to get anything done in most countries. The honesty, openess, fairness that we demand from our government, is an alien concept in those countries. If you want something done, you have to pay the local government officials for it out of your own pocket. Let’s not kid ourselves in thinking the entire world has adopted a system of fairness or decency.
Also, I urge you to consider the fact that when a law is written, it may plug one hole, but there are plenty of others left open or are unaddressed. I bet, all ready, that corporations, foreign governments and the world banking system which launders their dirty money, already have their lawyers and accountants working on ways to get around or through the new law. They aren’t going to stand by and let you make them accountable! I guarnantee you, the illegal blood diamonds will continue being bartered in Africa to wage genocidal wars while corporations sit idle and suck up profits.
This may have been some kind of victory in the short term, but it won’t be long before we all hear about the corporations and the dictators doing the same old same ole’ as they always have done. Just like we do, foreign nations can and do claim soverign immunities. They can do whatever they want to do within their own borders, the Cardin-Lugar Transparency amendment or not.
I hate to be your kill joy but what I am talking about is reality…and I think the amendment is just another one of those gimmicks that politicians like to use for cannon fodder during elections to keep us all fat, dumb and happy. Does it give you goose bumps to think you did the world some good?
It isn’t going to change and you know it.
July 16, 2010 at 11:37 am
Thank you for your comment, Martin. While our e-mail to all ONE members did say that we worked alongside partners to win this victory, this particular blog post specifically focused on describing the role ONE members played in getting this law passed. You are quite right that I should have acknowledged the work of our 30+ super partners in the Publish What You Pay Coalition (PWYP) including Oxfam, Global Witness, Catholic Relief Services, the Sierra Club and Revenue Watch and we are proud to be in the fight with them. Thank you for the reminder that we are part of a movement that seeks justice and equality for all.
July 16, 2010 at 11:50 am
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Jim. We don’t expect Cardin/Lugar to solve on the ills in the developing world, but it is an important step toward promoting accountability and unleashing more of the resources available in resource-rich countries. If our end goal is to make poverty, and therefore aid, history, we need to help fight corruption and make sure countries get to a point where they can fully fund their own health, education and infrastructure programs. No country in the world has achieved utopia, but we should all keep trying. There is a lot of room for optimism, and the ONE website highlights many examples of positive developments in low-income countries. Cardin/Lugar will definitely be a big help in that directions and there is good reason to celebrate its passage.
July 17, 2010 at 7:17 am
The Cardin-Lugar Transparency amendment is indeed a step in the right direction let us all rejoice for that. Thanks for the ONE initiative to pursue this goal. But now we should move towards the next step. Making governments and big corporations accountable is one thing but if the sanctions are a laugh, one will easily find ways around the problem. Embezzlement of funds in the cases were the Cardin-Lugar Transparency amendment is meant to work for, should be seen as a “crime against humanity” and both the provider i.e., the big corporations CEO’s and their boards and the receiver’s i.e., the Head of governments and their members should be brought to international and local courts for these “crimes”. Only personal accountability of individuals could restrain corporations and governments alike to engage into corruption and corruptive means.
July 17, 2010 at 9:27 pm
The Cardin-Lugar Transparency amendment is but ONE step in the right direction. And, as has been said, it will take one step at a time to reach the end goal. It may take years to reach that goal, but if we keep chipping away at the problem, things will gradually get better. It is now up to us to monitor the improvement in health care in those countries that are the worst offenders. We should monitor the improvement in education, and the availability of clean water in the areas most affected. We cannot sit back now. We must move forward to insure that the process of improvement begins, and that we begin to see some improvement by the numbers, and individual, personal improvement. This is the bigger task. We did a great job of calling our Senators, but now we must let the world know that we all need to look for the results. Keep at it ONE, do not give up now!
July 22, 2010 at 7:29 am
My comment is for the first time in this transparency website.
We are victims of state policies such as the united states and others. When we were in coming to such a huge company Freeport Mc Moorant or Freeport Indonesia, the destruction of the order value began to be felt. Corruption, the destruction of our government’s control over the local people so just dropped dramatically.
Now the U.S. launch of a state rule in the country to pressure U.S. companies to report the practice to pay bribes to corrupt governments in developing countries. I believe this is not an act alone but must be replicated in real form.
Freeport is a company owned by the United States in standing stately and successfully made our wealth for tens of years. But the fact is these kinds of increased poverty. Freeport cultural practice to pay bribes to the Indonesian government for the smooth business. Is America with the birth of this new law can fix this? we’ve had enough, we have many victims refuse ugliness of your company in our region. May change
July 24, 2010 at 7:45 am
Yeah but audit the Fed was gutted. You are not getting transparency. They are just telling you you are.