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79R10575 CLE-D
By: Burnam H.C.R. No. 121
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, United States companies that conduct business in
Sudan and other countries that support terrorism provide financial
reinforcement to terrorist-sponsoring governments and vital
resources to terrorists aided and abetted by these governments; and
WHEREAS, The Center for Security Policy has determined that
on average, the nation's top 100 pension systems invest in 101
companies that have business activities in countries that support
terrorism, and the companies are involved in projects valued at
more than $73 billion in these countries; and
WHEREAS, Federal law found at 22 U.S.C. Section 2656f(d)
defines "terrorism" as "premeditated, politically motivated
violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational
groups or clandestine agents"; and
WHEREAS, The genocide perpetrated in Darfur, Sudan, by
government-backed militias qualifies as terrorism because it
focuses on innocent civilians, results from a central planning
operation, and uses violence in pursuit of a political goal; and
WHEREAS, In 2004 the U.S. Congress passed a resolution that
recognized and approved the findings of the U.S. secretary of state
that genocide has occurred and may still be occurring in Darfur,
Sudan, and that the government of Sudan bears responsibility for
such acts; and
WHEREAS, Despite awareness of these findings, companies such
as Canada's Talisman Energy, Inc., which owns 25 percent of the
primary oil developer in Sudan, continue to provide funds that are
directly linked to the Sudanese government; several large U.S.
pension funds have divested mutual funds containing Talisman Energy
stock; and
WHEREAS, The governments of terrorist-sponsoring countries
typically are almost entirely dependent on the revenues, expertise,
and advanced equipment and technology provided by global, publicly
traded U.S. companies in which millions of Americans own stock; and
WHEREAS, If Americans knew which companies are, in effect,
rendering assistance to nations that harbor, arm, train, and
otherwise support our enemies in the war on terror, they might make
different choices about investing in and otherwise doing business
with those companies; and
WHEREAS, American consumers and investors so empowered can
force companies to choose their standing in the U.S. financial
community over their operations in terrorist-sponsoring countries,
greatly increasing the pressure on these countries to cease their
practice of aiding and abetting terrorists; and
WHEREAS, While actions like these can assist the U.S.
Department of the Treasury's efforts to sever the lines of
financial support to international terrorists, what is needed to
empower millions of American investors to aid our troops in the war
on terror is information about U.S. companies doing business in
terrorist-sponsoring countries provided by the newly created
Office of Global Security Risk (OGSR) within the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC); and
WHEREAS, With the signing into law of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act on January 23, 2004, the U.S. Congress charged
the OGSR with establishing a process by which the SEC identifies all
publicly traded U.S. companies operating in terrorist-sponsoring
states designated by the U.S. Department of State and with ensuring
that the companies are disclosing such activities to investors; and
WHEREAS, Although the OGSR is properly positioned to obtain
and evaluate disclosure relating to company activities that may
pose national security risks, the office has not been provided
guidelines on how to make this information available to the public;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 79th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
direct the Office of Global Security Risk within the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission to publish a list of U.S.
companies that conduct business in countries that are involved in
terrorist activities; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Office of Global Security Risk be directed
to:
(1) require companies to disclose the existence of any
material activities in terrorist-sponsoring countries in a
specific place or under a special header in filings provided to the
Securities and Exchange Commission;
(2) provide a public searchable database of publicly traded
U.S. companies with material business or operations in countries
classified as supporting terrorism or subject to economic
sanctions; and
(3) take steps to prevent U.S. companies from conducting
business in Sudan, which the U.S. Department of State designates as
one of the top supporters of international terrorism; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the
Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.