WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), co-author of the Cardin-Lugar extractive industries provision in Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Reform Act, praised the latest step toward greater transparency in the oil, gas and mining industries. The White House announced that the United States has become the first G-8 country to achieve candidate status and become an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) implementing country. Per the White House, “we join a group of 41 countries around the world that are working actively to improve the management of their oil, gas, and mining sectors.”  

Senator Cardin: “The transparency frameworks that are integral to the Cardin-Lugar provision and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative should be the norm around the world for both developing and more developed countries.  As the first G-8 country to join EITI, the United States is leading by example to strengthen efforts to combat corruption, increase energy security, and support economic development for impoverished communities in resource-rich nations. We are not immune to corruption in this country, so the more tools we have to publicize information about our natural resources the more transparent and accountable we become to the American people.”