March 6, 2017
Dear Commissioner Piwowar,
As both a person born in Congo and an American citizen, I am writing to express my support for the continued implementation of the Conflict Minerals Rule. As a consumer, it is important to me that I am able to access key information about the companies I purchase from, including information about their conflict minerals sourcing practices.
Colleagues in Congo have suffered a great deal from the ways that minerals have been extracted from their country, especially in the east. I do not want my purchases to support violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Conflict Minerals Rule has made it easier for me to assess which companies are taking steps to ensure their products are not linked to this decades-long conflict. Additionally, I believe transparent supply chains are an important indicator of a company's overall stability, which is a key factor for making both purchasing and investment decisions.
I urge you to keep the Conflict Minerals Rule fully intact, and to work with your fellow SEC commissioners to enforce the Rule moving forward.
Thank you very much,
Elsie McKee