Though I will always consider Grand Haven home, my career over the past six years has carried me to remote areas in rural Southeast Asia. In that time I’ve seen firsthand how government corruption falls hardest on the most vulnerable communities. Bribery by officials to line their own pockets too often keeps essential revenue from flowing into public services, perpetuating extreme poverty and fueling conflict.

This phenomena in which countries that are rich in natural resources yet remain deeply impoverished is known as the “resource curse.”

But while I collaborated on environmental governance reform projects in Cambodia to find solutions to this “resource curse,” it turns out U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, was doing the bidding of powerful corporations and the foreign regimes they do business with by undermining a key anti-corruption law.

Even worse, he has relied on outright lies to convince his constituents that his efforts to eliminate transparency is somehow in their interest. West Michigan is better than this.

In 2010, Congress enacted a bipartisan measure, Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, to require oil, gas and mining companies to disclose the payments they make to foreign governments and the U.S. government as part of the regular financial reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The landmark transparency law is a vital tool to expose and deter nefarious backroom deals in a notoriously corrupt industry, to protect investors, and to enable communities to sustainably manage their resources.

The law has long had bipartisan support and the backing of national security experts, investors and faith-based development groups. The main source of opposition is the few companies that want to keep their dealings with foreign dictators secret. In January 2017, Huizenga showed where his priorities lie by introducing H.J. Res. 41, a bill of “disapproval” that undid the work that the SEC had conducted to implement the transparency law, thereby giving companies more time to keep their payments secret.

This month, Huizenga introduced a new bill, H.R. 4519, that would permanently repeal Section 1504. As a native of West Michigan dedicated to serving communities devastated by the actions of irresponsible governments and companies, I am embarrassed by this effort, which will only further enable corrupt extractive deals around the world. But I’m even more embarrassed by how Huizenga has sold both measures to his constituents.

In a February op-ed ("Cutting red tape will grow our economy and increase opportunity," Sentinel, Feb. 19), Huizenga claimed the law hurt the economy in West Michigan and “has left our nation with less opportunity.” The jobs rationale is dishonest political pandering at its worst. This legislation has nothing to do with jobs. Requiring companies to simply disclose the payments they make — which they already track in the regular course of business — does nothing to harm the economy in Michigan or anywhere else.

Huizenga also dishonestly argues that Section 1504 would require U.S. companies to “reveal sensitive business information” to their competitors. That’s not true either. The law does not require the disclosure of any contractual details, trade secrets, or strategies for bidding; it simply requires disclosure of how much companies pay foreign governments.

Huizenga has also ignored the interests of investors, dubiously claiming that disclosures under the law “fails to provide investors with useful information.” However, investors representing $10 trillion in assets under management have fervently disagreed and repeatedly supported implementation of the transparency law as key to evaluating investment risk. Who should we trust to know what benefits investors — investors or Huizenga?

Huizenga has also claimed the law isn’t necessary to fight corruption because paying bribes is already illegal. That misses the point. The public and civil society are the most effective tools for exposing corruption because the public disclosure of payment information allows civil society groups to investigate and hold their governments accountable. This power of information is a cost-effective way to prevent the most egregious forms of corruption.

If Huizenga succeeds in destroying this anti-corruption law there will only be two winners: Corrupt foreign regimes and the companies that are willing to exploit that corruption to get an edge on more transparent competitors. H.R. 4519 does nothing for his constituents, and nothing for the American people. It is simply serving the interests of lobbyists and the powerful corporations who fund Huizenga’s campaigns.

In past years I have returned home with a deep sense of pride because of the work of the community and faith-based groups that humbly serve the world’s poorest. This year, it feels different. I pray Huizenga will remember who his constituents are and stop promoting policies that harm the world’s most vulnerable communities.

— Brendon Thomas is a native of Grand Haven. He can be reached at brendonhahns@gmail.com.