‘As we know Mr. President the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed by Obama in response to the financial crisis and great recession of 2008 and it was also, as you know, one of the most significant changes to financial regulation since the Great Depression.’
John Woods sat in the winged armchair listening to Donald Parker whilst trying to stop himself fiddling and playing and pulling and tugging at the loose piece of cotton sticking out from the cushion next to him which Teddy was leaning on in between scribbling down numerous notes.
‘… And amongst the many and varied provisions of Dodd-Frank, Mr. President, was section 1502, relating to conflict minerals.’
Woods’s instinct was to stop Parker giving him a lecture on something he’d helped the Obama administration work on. But he guessed this was Parker’s chance to put over to him what exactly he wanted. A sales pitch. A presentation. Call it what you will, the man had stated he’d help get the necessary votes for the gun reforms. And for that, he’d be willing to sit through anything. Even this. However, that didn’t stop him hoping Parker would cut to the chase, or at least realize he didn’t need to explain certain things because he damned near help write them.
‘Human rights groups, Mr. President, have been campaigning for a long time to ensure mandatory labelling of conflict minerals which would then allow consumers as well as investors to avoid being part of funding these conflicts, through the buying of products. The 1502 section of the Dodd-Frank reform required the auditing of the minerals, with companies having to trace their supply chains. Then as you know they had to report back to the Securities and Exchanges Commission with their report on what due diligence they’d put in place to find out if their products were financing the conflict before publicly disclosing their findings. The SEC originally said in 2010 that the rules required any company for which conflict minerals were necessary, for the production of a product manufactured, or contracted to be manufactured, by that company, to disclose in its yearly report whether its conflict minerals originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or a bordering country.’
Parker handed Woods a piece of paper which he skim read. He hid his smile. He’d been at one of the meetings. ‘You play golf?’
Puzzled, Parker said, ‘A little bit. I think it’s a prerequisite of being in Washington.’
‘Come with me.’
Woods opened the glass Oval Office door and stepped out into the fresh air and onto a blended natural sandstone path which led past a number of Secret Service men and down to the White House’s 2,000 square foot putting green which was under the shade of the Hoover oak tree.
Woods handed a Callaway putting iron to Parker from the small metal club stand. ‘Coming out here helps me clear my head… You know a long time ago I played here with Clinton, he was the one who had the putting green moved to this location. He was on his second term and that day he had a lot on his mind. 11 February 1999. He didn’t know it then but the next day he’d be acquitted by the Senate on both articles of impeachment. Though even with all the worry of not knowing what was going to happen, he still managed to put some excellent strokes in… Let’s see what you’ve got.’
Focusing on the ball, bending his legs slightly before rocking himself into the golfer’s stance, Parker gripped the club lightly in the palm and fingers of his hands. ‘The extraction and sale of minerals from the DRC have always been hampered by chaotic and corrupt systems. We all know companies have been shipping minerals out of the country for years to other places, trying to dissociate the minerals from the DRC by pretending the place they shipped the minerals to, is the country of origin. Groups like Amnesty are forever trying to highlight the problems, but it’s difficult with large companies who put smoke screens up so consumers don’t know what they’re buying. It becomes a minefield of corruption. And it’s tragic and, quite frankly, I’m ashamed.’
Woods watched Parker’s ball trickle past the hole. Lined his own club up. ‘But that’s why the conflict mineral section was created. That’s why it was important to try to force the companies to do due diligence and publicly disclose.’
‘Try, Mr. President. That’s what you did. You tried, but it hasn’t happened has it?’
‘I admit, it’s an ongoing struggle. Foreign policy is a complex beast… Dammit look at that. I hit it on the completely wrong angle.’
Parker looked at Woods with what he could only describe as scorn, which, the president had to admit, he didn’t appreciate.
‘Don’t kid yourself. It’s a stalemate. Since 2010 this section of the Dodd-Frank reform has been challenged and appealed on a repeat loop. Why? Because like always the companies felt like someone was squeezing their balls. And as a consequence claimed that the regulation violated their free speech rights under the first amendment by claiming they were essentially being forced to condemn their own products.’
Teddy Adleman, who’d just re-joined them, said, ‘You don’t think they had a point?’
‘No,’ said Parker. ‘Do you? What makes it harder to swallow is the fact that we don’t know exactly who these companies are. As usual the lawsuits were brought by a group of business lobby associations that include the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. So, it makes it hard to pinpoint who’s challenging the law. But by God, they’re hiding, Mr. President. They’re hiding. And it makes you think. Why?’
‘I’m just playing devil’s advocate here,’ said Woods. ‘But maybe they genuinely feel their rights are being violated.’
Donald Parker brushed back his head of full gray hair. ‘You don’t believe that any more than I do. Rather than face the challenges of trying to mine in an ethical way they brought legal procedures by talking about their rights, the constitution and the first amendment.’
Woods shook his head. Gave a wry smile. ‘Amendment isn’t my favorite word at the moment.’
‘Right. Because the same is happening to you. People are saying you’re challenging the amendment on the right to bear arms, instead of seeing it as you trying to change things. And that’s what section 1502 was trying to do. Not stop people’s freedom of speech, but stop violence, death, murder, rape and the use of children in the mines. Most mines are run by different militia groups and the people, including children, who work there do so under violence and sheer brutality. The decision for the reform was supposed to be about democracy and transparency. And what we have is clever attorneys turning the first amendment on its head, allowing multinationals to use it as something to undermine. The first amendment was supposed to protect the free speech rights of the American people, of individuals, and not giant companies. In the DRC there’s no centralized taxation system, nothing to help the people who’ve seen and lived through decades of violence. And there’s no-one to stop the armed groups making the Congolese miners do the hard labor and then making them surrender the minerals they’ve mined. The miners work under a reign of terror, and the militia give them nearly nothing, whilst they make a massive profit on the back of them. And all around the world consumers know very little or nothing about this.’
Woods nodded. ‘It’s a difficult situation. And my administration stands by the original 2010 reform.’
Donald Parker hit the golf ball with passion, sending it right off the green. ‘It’s no good you standing by it if it doesn’t hold up in court. And for plaintiffs to argue that Congress had provided no evidence that public disclosures concerning whether a product is conflict free would lead to the advancement of amity in the DRC, well that’s downright outrageous. If we don’t try, nothing will change.’
John Woods found himself agreeing. ‘It’s the same with the gun reforms. People are saying there’s no proof it’ll make a difference. But I say, let’s try first and then let’s see.’
Parker became animated, waving his hands round and his hair falling once again over his eyes. ‘Exactly. That’s why I want to support you in this. We have the same vision. You’ll have your reforms and I, Mr. President, can have peace of mind. Why wait for another court case, another appeal? When right here right now the consumer can have what they really want. Blood-free products. Everyone remembers the stuff about blood diamonds, but do they realize that their cell phones, laptops and motherboards could be and most likely are part of a bloody conflict? No, sir, I don’t think they do. Tell me how many people, apart from those who watch C-Span, know what the companies are trying to do and withhold? There’s going to be more appeals but this, as we both know, will go on for years, whilst innocent people are dying. My company, Nadbury, own mines in the DRC which are not controlled by armed groups. All the mines we own are conflict free. We’ve had the audits. We have the certificates. We don’t need to argue that our first amendments are being violated. Do you know what one judge said regarding the freedom of speech in regards to this matter?’
‘Remind me.’
Parker cleared his throat as he walked across to pick up his ball. ‘The court of appeal basically determined that the regulations requiring public disclosure of the DRC conflict status of minerals did not qualify for rational basis review. I quote, products and minerals do not fight conflicts. The label conflict free is a metaphor that conveys moral responsibility. By compelling an issuer to confess blood on his hands, the statute interferes with the exercise of the freedom of speech under the first amendment.’ Parker paused. ‘Are you telling me this is right, Mr. President?’
‘I’m just here to listen. Carry on…’
‘I’m just angry that there’s so much manipulation of something which is supposed to save lives and do so much good. The part of the reform where it states companies are required to do due diligence by sourcing their suppliers? Well that’s a joke. Because what is due diligence? Who polices this? Who sets the bar? Companies just offer excuses that it’s not possible to source. Deny all knowledge. Come on. There’s a loophole there just for companies to jump through. This was supposed to encourage corporations, but instead it’s got them hiding and shamefully they’ve spent millions trying to block these changes with challenges based on constitutional rights. But what about the rights of the people of the DRC, Mr. President?’
‘You think it’s that simple.’
‘No, of course not. It would be stupid to oversimplify the conflict, but for companies to hide their sources and argue to the point of appeals and challenges and object to having to disclose when children are dying, well in my book that’s not acceptable. This is about the consumers’ right to know the truth, Mr. President. The American people are fed up with cover-ups. They want honesty and transparency from those in power. The DRC needs people who care. To foster reform, help stop corruption and most of all help create transparency. People here in the US need to know what they’re buying.’
Woods looked at his watch. ‘So what exactly do you want?’
‘I want people to be able to switch on their cells and their laptops with the knowledge that none of the components have been made from conflict minerals. I don’t want, when people call their friend, for them to have blood dripping down their hand.’
Woods glanced at Teddy who raised his eyebrows at the impassioned imagery.
‘If the electronics industry wants to spend millions per month lobbying senate offices to try to relax the reforms, let them, because we at Nadbury will be the consumer’s choice. Our supply chains for tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold are conflict free, and we want the world to know that. But we can’t do it without you, Mr. President. We need your voice.’
Woods heard slight scepticism in it as he sunk the putt. ‘And this is the campaign you mentioned on the phone.’
‘It is, and to me it’s as important as the gun reforms. The next generation are becoming more aware. And maybe now more than ever people aren’t thinking so much in term of us and them. I think social media has really connected the whole of the world.’
‘And why can’t you do this without us? If you’ve got the certificates, there shouldn’t be a problem to do it without our help.’
‘Come on Mr. President, you know as well as I do if we go it alone there won’t be as much interest in it; people won’t open their doors to it, schools will be sceptical to be associated with a profit-making company. And it certainly won’t have kudos, and ultimately the success, if you weren’t part of it. We need each other.’
‘And of course if this administration gave you the support, this will make you and your company millions.’
‘Yes. Millions and millions of dollars. But that’s okay, because they’ll be millions of ethical dollars.’
‘Is there such a thing?’
‘I don’t apologize for being a businessman, but I won’t be part of someone else’s suffering. Stand by us, Mr. President. Head our campaign to encourage every kid, every American to know they’re a part of changing the world. Part of making a painful part of history come to a full stop. America is a great nation but it’ll be a greater one if it reaches out its hand to another and says to the world, no more.’
Teddy Adleman looked at his watch and took the putting iron from Parker. ‘Mr. Parker, thank you for your time. We appreciate you coming today. Obviously there’s a lot to think about. I’ll escort you to security.’
Out of his pocket, Donald Parker passed Teddy an envelope. ‘There’s a list of senators’ names in there. Call them, Mr. Adleman, and each one will tell you the same thing. They’ll give their support to your gun reforms. You’ll get your votes.’
‘As long as the president supports your campaign.’
Parker smiled. Rubbed his front teeth with the tip of his tongue. ‘Mr. Adleman, I’m a businessman, not a charity.’