Chair Cardin Unveils Bill to Expose Global Resource Payment Corruption

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the 1504 Modernization Act to update Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which became law in 2010. Section 1504, originally championed by Chair Cardin and the late Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in 2010, requires publicly traded fossil fuel companies disclose payments made to foreign governments to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 1504 Modernization Act would broaden its scope to cover additional industries beyond fossil fuel extraction, expand reporting requirements to include non-conventional payments and illicit actors, and tighten accountability measures.

“This legislation puts more power into the hands of the people, ensuring the wealth drawn from the earth’s resources serves the many, not the privileged few,” said Chair Cardin. “By shining a light on hidden payments, we’re giving citizens the tools to demand justice and fairness, to claim their rightful share of their nation’s riches. Transparency is not just an ideal – it’s a pathway to stronger governments, a shield against corruption, and a promise of steady energy access, even in times of turmoil and uncertainty.”

Key provisions of the 1504 Modernization Act:

• Increase transparency on payments across more extractive industries, including gold and critical mineral extraction, logging and timber harvesting, and land conversions of natural forested lands for agricultural production
• Require disclosure of payments made to non-government sources, such as criminal networks or other illicit actors, including payments made with cryptocurrency
• Require covered industries to disaggregate the payment data reported on a project-by-project basis to ensure that disclosed information is useful to actually understand the scope of covered entities payments and the actors receiving payments
• Limit the qualified exemptions from reporting to prevent covered entities from escaping responsibility under the law

Full text of the 1504 Modernization Act is available HERE.

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