January 16, 2008

The Honorable Christopher J. Dodd
Chairman, Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
United States Senate
534 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

RE: Sudan Divestment and Accountability Act of 2007 (S 2271)

Dear Chairman Dodd:

On behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), I want to thank you for sponsoring the Sudan Divestment and Accountability Act of 2007 (S 2271). State legislatures applaud federal efforts to limit or deny access to the U.S. capital marketplace to companies identified as doing business with countries that support terrorism or engage in genocide.

However, the Act places responsibility on states to accurately identify these companies. NCSL urges the federal government to provide states with authoritative information about whether actions by such companies are in line with this new law, as well as United States foreign policy goals.

Currently, there are several firms and not-for-profit organizations providing states with lists of companies identified as doing business in Sudan and other terrorist sponsoring nations. This information is not authoritative and lacks the imprimatur of the federal government’s authority on whether the business conducted by these companies violates or are in line with foreign policy.

NCSL strongly supports any additional efforts by the federal government that provide states with the necessary information to determine which companies are involved in activities with countries that are potentially threatening to our national security, supporting terrorism or engaging in genocide.

Again, I appreciate your leadership and diligence with advancing this legislation. Should you or your staff have any questions about NCSL’s position on this matter, please contact Diana Hinton Noel at 202-624-7779 or diana.hinton@ncsl.org.

Sincerely,

Representative Phillip Frye, North Carolina
Chair, NCSL Labor and Economic Development Committee

NCSL's Official Policy