10 February 2017
House Republicans earlier this month voted to repeal an anti-corruption rule the Securities and Exchange Commission instituted last year requiring oil, gas and mining companies to disclose the taxes and other fees they pay to foreign governments.
Coinsidentally the vote came on the same day that former Exxon Mobil Corp. chief executive Rex Tillerson was confirmed as secretary of state. Previously Tillerson had lobbied against this rule.
The extraction rule was a result of 2010 Dodd-Frank banking reform package. It faced a long legal battle and was put into place only in 27 June, 2016.
The extraction rule was a result of 2010 Dodd-Frank banking reform package. It faced a long legal battle and was put into place only in 27 June, 2016.
Under the Congressional Review Act recent rules can be overturned in 60 working days if both houses and the president sign off on it. Trump is expected to approve the reversal. His administration is set to undo some of the regulations on Wall Street, put in place to prevent the type of 2008 financial collapse.
Also using the same Congressional Review Act, the House also voted to repeal a late-Obama-era regulation preventing coal mines from polluting nearby streams and a rule restricting natural-gas drilling companies from burning off methane on public land. This move is at odds with rules in 30 other countries.
