Three environmental organizations are suing the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., arguing that the agency illegally determined it didn’t have to comply with the Government in the Sunshine Act, which requires federal government agencies to hold open meetings.
Friends of the Earth, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Center for International Environmental Law filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Opinion: No sunshine — DFC limits transparency when it is needed most
As the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation ramps up its work, transparency and stakeholder engagement must be prioritized. According to this op-ed, this is the only way the DFC can be the effective and responsible development finance institution that it aims to be.
“Congress intended this new agency to be open to the public and follow the Sunshine Act,” said Bill Snape, senior counsel with the Center for Biological Diversity and the lead lawyer on the lawsuit, in a statement. “While the [former President Donald] Trump administration used the agency to favor its special-interest benefactors like the oil and gas industry, our lawsuit says ‘no more.’”
The background: DFC’s predecessor agency — the Overseas Private Investment Corp. — abided by the Sunshine Act, and the regulations carried over when DFC was created.
But during the Trump administration, DFC issued a rule removing the agency’s Sunshine Act regulations. As a result, DFC has held fewer public meetings and has not released minutes publicly.
What’s next: DFC did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit Wednesday, so it’s unclear if President Joe Biden’s administration will keep the rule or comply with the Sunshine Act.
The lawsuit concerns whether DFC meets the law’s definition of “agency,” which must be headed by a “collegial body” with at least two members, the majority of whom are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The Trump administration’s rule says only four of the DFC board members meet that definition, while the others, including DFC’s CEO, hold the positions “by virtue of appointment to a different office.”
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
