TED W- LIEU 415 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 33m: DISTRICT. CALIFORNIA WASHINGTON. DC 20515 (202) 225~3976 5055 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD, SUITE 310 COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET LOS (ANGELES, CA 90036 310 652?3095 . at the 131111211 5mm COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENTREFORM ?annel: at iRepre?entatthea 3214,36,, manningtnu, 1301 311515?1153?- October 30, 2015 The Honorable Mary 0 White Chair Securities and Exchange Commission 100 Street NE Washington, DC. 20549 Dear Chair White, As Members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, we are deeply troubled by recent media reports alleging that ExxonMobil intentionally obfuscated the role of fossil fuels in in?uencing climate change. Investigations by the Los Angeles Times and Inside Climate News suggest that top executives at Exxon embarked on a massive campaign of denial and disinformation after company scientists connected the burning of fossil ?iels with global warmingm We request your agency investigate ExxonMobil?s past ?lings to determine if securities laws were violated by failing to appropriately disclose material risks related to climate change. As a publicly traded company, ExxonMobil has a duty to follow U.S. securities law and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations for the bene?t of investors, including disclosure requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating to the issue of climate change. Unfortunately, it appears that ExxonMobil may have omitted or misrepresented material information in of?cial ?lings. According to recent media reports, as far back as 1977, senior Exxon (becoming ExxonMobil in 1999) scientists highlighted for company management that ?carbon dioxide from the world?s use of fossil fuels would warm the planet and could eventually endanger humanity?? Furthermore, Exxon continued its research into carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and its impact on the earth, and ?assembled a brain trust that would spend more than a decade deepening the company?s understanding? of global warmingw Included in an Exxon memo from 1982, the company suggests that addressing the negative consequences of global warming ?would require major reductions in fossil fuel combustion,? and that ?there are some potentially catastrophic events that must be However, it See Sara Jerving et ?What Exxon Knew About the Earth?s Melting Arctic," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 9, 2015; Neela Banerjee at (M, ?Exxon: The Road Not Taken,? Inside Climate News, Sep. 16, 2015; ?How Exxon Went From Leader to Skeptic on Climate Change Research,? Los Angeles Times, Oct 23, 2015. Neela Banerjee et ai., ?Exxon: The Road Not Taken,? inside Climate News, Sep. 16, 2015. id. id. PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER appears that Exxon did not elaborate on these issues in annual reports ?led with securities regulators nor did Exxon report that their concerns were beginning to in?uence business decisions. Additionally, a Los Angeles Times investigationm indicates that Exxon? 5 internal approach to climate change varied substantially to its external actions. The investigation suggests that Exxon reportedly incorporated climate change projections into planning efforts as far back as 1990, including how to adapt the company?s Arctic operations despite ongoing efforts to obscure public perception of climate change. Based on the allegations above, we are deeply concerned that US. securities laws may have been violated, and we encourage your agency to thoroughly investigate the facts to determine if ExxonMobil misrepresented or omitted material facts in past securities ?lings. If you determine that violations did occur, we respectfully request the SEC to seek appropriate equitable remedies against ExxonMobil. Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and we look forward to your response. Sincerely, Ted W. Lieu Ming DeSaulmer Member of Congress Member of Congress Peter Welch lgatthew Cartwright Member of Congress Member of Congress Sara Jerving et "What Exxon Knew About the Earth's Melting Arctic," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 9, 2015. [61 Id.