On March 17, 2017 WLF filed comments with SEC in response to Acting Chairman Piwowar’s January 31 request for input on the Conflict Minerals Rule. WLF seeks repeal of the rule, which implements § 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, because the rule is having the exact opposite effect of what it intended. The rule curbs demand for “conflict minerals” like tin, tantalum, and tungsten in order to reduce violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo mining communities where these minerals originate. But the high costs of rule compliance (and low certainty about which mines are conflict free) have led companies to avoid all mines in the DRC region, even those not controlled by militias. The drop in demand has increased the probability of looting by 176% and raised infant mortality rates at least 143%. Poverty and unemployment have spiked, forcing some parents to remove children from school. Many unemployed miners have even joined the militias for work.