To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to repeal certain disclosure requirements related to conflict minerals, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 15, 2026 · Last action March 19, 2026
Plain English Summary
This bill repeals Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires publicly traded companies to disclose whether their products contain conflict minerals (gold, tin, tantalum, tungsten) sourced from war-torn regions of Central Africa and to report their due diligence efforts to avoid funding armed groups. Repealing this rule eliminates mandatory supply-chain transparency for companies using these minerals.
Who benefits
Electronics manufacturers, semiconductor companies, jewelry makers, automotive suppliers, and other companies using tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold in their products who currently incur costs for supply-chain auditing and compliance reporting. Mining and mineral trading companies operating in or sourcing from Central Africa and their downstream purchasers will face reduced scrutiny of sourcing practices.
Who pays / loses
Consumers and investors lose access to supply-chain transparency information about conflict minerals. Civil society organizations and NGOs monitoring human rights and armed-conflict financing lose a statutory reporting mechanism. Workers and communities in Central African mining regions lose a disincentive for corporate purchasing from mines controlled by armed groups.
Funding & Lobbying Interests
Industries with direct financial interest in repealing conflict minerals disclosure include electronics manufacturers, semiconductor producers, jewelry companies, and automotive suppliers who bear compliance and auditing costs under current law. The sponsor, Rep. Huizenga (R-MI), received $181,586 in contributions from 'Other' sectors and $21,402 from Finance in the 2024 cycle, though no PAC contributions were reported. Michigan's economy includes significant automotive and electronics manufacturing sectors that would benefit from reduced regulatory compliance burdens.
Political Impact
Affected Groups
Publicly traded companies in electronics, semiconductors, automotive, aerospace, medical devices, and jewelry sectors—industries that use conflict minerals in manufacturing. Institutional investors and fund managers who currently use conflict minerals disclosures in ESG and risk assessments. Millions of consumers purchasing electronics, smartphones, computers, and automotive products manufactured with conflict minerals. Artisanal and small-scale miners, armed groups, and civilian populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and adjacent regions who have been affected by armed conflict tied to mineral extraction.
Political Subtext
Proponents argue that conflict minerals disclosure imposes excessive compliance costs on U.S. companies without effectively stopping mineral trafficking, that disclosure rules are unilaterally burdensome compared to international competitors, and that the SEC rule is overreach beyond its core securities mission. Critics contend that the disclosure requirement is a proven tool for applying market pressure to reduce funding of armed groups in Central Africa, that repealing it signals U.S. withdrawal from corporate human rights accountability, and that companies have successfully integrated conflict minerals due diligence into supply chains, proving feasibility. Non-partisan evidence is mixed: the State Department and academic researchers have documented that conflict minerals disclosure has reduced certain armed groups' revenue and improved supply-chain practices, but compliance costs have been significant and implementation has been inconsistent across industries. No CBO or GAO fiscal impact assessment was available in the bill text.
Real-World Stakes
Repealing Section 1502 would eliminate the statutory requirement for approximately 6,000 SEC-registered public companies to disclose conflict minerals in their supply chains, a transparency rule that has been in effect since 2014. When conflict minerals disclosure was first implemented under Dodd-Frank, major electronics and jewelry companies established due diligence programs and supply-chain audits, but also reported substantial compliance costs and complexity. Removal of the rule would likely reduce corporate investment in supply-chain monitoring and create opacity around mineral sourcing practices. The consequence would be reduced visibility into whether companies are purchasing minerals that fund armed groups—the core objective of the 2010 conflict minerals campaign. Advocacy organizations that have used disclosure data to pressure companies would lose a statutory lever. Historical precedent shows that when corporate transparency rules are repealed, companies typically reduce or eliminate voluntary reporting in those areas.
What's Inside This Bill
Non-obvious provisions not apparent from the headline summary.
Elimination of SEC Enforcement Authority
Repealing Section 1502 removes the SEC's authority to enforce conflict mineral disclosure requirements and eliminates the regulatory framework for reviewing company compliance filings and imposing penalties for non-disclosure.
AffectsCompanies currently subject to enforcement actions or audit will no longer face SEC penalties, and the SEC loses oversight capacity; however, investors and advocacy organizations lose their mechanism for obtaining standardized, comparable conflict mineral data across industries.
Removal of Due Diligence Reporting Requirement
The repeal eliminates the requirement for companies to conduct and publicly report on supply chain due diligence processes, including third-party audits and conflict assessments of mineral sources.
AffectsCompanies sourcing minerals from conflict regions will no longer need to document their investigation efforts; procurement personnel can reduce compliance costs, but civil society organizations, investors, and journalists lose visibility into company supply chain practices.
Preemption of State and Local Transparency Rules
Federal repeal of Section 1502 may create legal ambiguity about whether states or local governments can impose their own conflict mineral disclosure requirements, potentially allowing companies to argue federal repeal preempts state alternatives.
AffectsStates considering stricter transparency mandates may face legal challenges from companies arguing federal repeal eliminates the field; investors in states like California seeking transparency standards lose federal baseline enforcement.
Nullification of Existing Compliance Frameworks
Companies have built supply chain auditing, compliance programs, and conflict-free sourcing certifications based on Section 1502 requirements; repeal eliminates the regulatory foundation supporting these voluntary initiatives.
AffectsCompanies with established conflict-free certification programs may discontinue them due to loss of legal requirement; suppliers and certifiers who built businesses around compliance lose their market justification.
Sponsor
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
Top contributing industries
Other$181,586.96
Finance$21,402.17
Energy$8,100
Transportation$6,600
Law$4,900
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
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