H.R. 7085, a bill to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to repeal certain disclosure requirements related to conflict minerals, and for other purposes

H.R. 7085 would repeal the requirement for certain companies that use conflict minerals to report annually to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Conflict minerals are those that originate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or a neighboring country and that the Secretary of State has identified as helping finance conflict in that region.

Under current law, companies registered with the SEC that manufacture their products with conflict minerals must disclose how they obtained those minerals and identify every product that contains minerals from sources that finance armed groups in the DRC. The Department of Commerce, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Department of State also are required to report on conflict minerals and on the accuracy of reporting by private companies under current law.

Based on the costs of similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would reduce the SEC’s costs by an insignificant amount each year. Because the commission is authorized to collect fees each year to offset its annual appropriation, CBO estimates that the net effect on discretionary spending over the 2026-2031 period would be negligible, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that authority. CBO also estimates that removing the reporting requirement for the Department of Commerce, GAO, and the State Department would decrease their costs by less than $500,000. Any reduction in spending would require a reduction in appropriated amounts.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sean Christensen. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.