Detailed Summary

Corporate Charitable Disclosure Act of 2007 - Amends the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to require disclosure of: (1) corporate charitable contributions whose value exceeds what the issuer made during the previous year to any nonprofit organization of which a director, officer, or controlling person of the issuer (or a spouse) was a director or trustee (insider affiliated charity); (2) the name of such nonprofit organization and the value of the contribution; (3) the total value of contributions made by the issuer to nonprofit organizations during its previous fiscal year; and (4) the organization name and the value of contributions if the value to any one organization exceeds the amount designated by Securities and Exchange Commission rule.

Status of the Legislation

Latest Major Action: 4/11/2007: Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Points in Favor

H.R. 1208, also known as the Corporate Charitable Disclosure Act of 2007, is a needed piece of legislation. In a world clouded by back door business dealings, and the low approval rating of Congress, H.R. 1208 implements direly needed changes. The bill was introduced by Ohio Republican Representative Paul Gillmor. He is right on with his statement on February 27th, 2007.

"Today, I reintroduced the Corporate Charitable Disclosure Act to require public companies to disclose their charitable donations to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It has been only slightly more than 5 years since our nation witnessed the damage that corporate misconduct can have on every American. With these memories still fresh, it seems obvious that corporations need to be more forthcoming about their expenditures, including charitable contributions.
Under current law, a corporation that makes significant contributions to charitable organizations is under no obligation to publicly disclose how shareholder monies are being spent. My legislation will ensure that if a corporation makes a contribution, the American public and the shareholders are aware of where the money is going.
Most gift-giving has a legitimate purpose, and some public companies already disclose their charitable contributions voluntarily. If charitable contributions are legitimate, corporations should have nothing to hide by disclosing those gifts."

Do the right thing for America; ensure the transparency in government- support H.R. 1208.

Points Against

(Log in to edit the wiki and be the first to show why the bill should not pass!)