On Wednesday, House Republicans introduced four bills designed to prevent ideological investment managers from using a Biden administration rule to put politics over their clients’ profits.
Last November, the Biden administration issued a rule relieving portfolio investment managers from their fiduciary responsibility to invest their clients’ money based solely on profit potential, the House Committee on Education & the Workforce website explains:
“The Biden administration's new rule—which enables and encourages retirement fiduciaries to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors—will allow activist investors to funnel retirees' savings into progressive, left-wing causes. Moreover, ESG funds are notorious underperformers and relatively high-risk, leaving the futures of retirees less secure.”
“Americans invest to secure a brighter future for themselves and their families, not to bankroll Democrats’ radical initiatives and pet projects,” the Republicans said in a statement announcing the bills:
“Our bills are focused on rolling back Biden’s destructive ESG rule and protecting the financial future of working Americans, retirees, and their families.”
In their announcement, the four Education and Workforce Committee members describe their respective bills:
- Rep. Rick Allen’s (R-GA) Roll back ESG To Increase Retirement Earnings (RETIRE) Act “Clarifies that financial institutions must base decisions on an investment solely on economic factors.”
- Rep. Erin Houchin’s (R-IN) Retirement Proxy Protection Act “States that the decision to exercise a shareholder right is subject to the prudence and loyalty duties under ERISA” and that “proxies held by ERISA plans must be voted in the economic interest of the plan, not used to advance radical policies.”
- Chairman Bob Good’s (R-VA) No Discrimination In My Benefits Act “Declares that race, color, religion, sex, or national origin may not be taken into consideration when selecting a fiduciary, counsel, employee, or service provider of an ERISA plan.”
- Jim Banks’ (R-IN) Providing Complete Information To Retirement Investors Act “Implements a notice requirement on defined contribution plans explaining the difference between choosing from investments selected by ERISA fiduciaries and choosing from investments through a brokerage window.”
Biden’s ESG rule injecting ideology into investment decisions, at the expense of Americans’ retirement savings, has been widely condemned in public statements by a host of prestigious organizations and public figures, including:
- More than 60 Organizations led by Advancing American Freedom
- Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform
Attorneys General from 27 states - Stephen Moore, Distinguished Fellow in Economics at the Heritage Foundation
- Brent Gardner, Americans for Prosperity
- Mike Pence, former Vice President of the United States
- Elon Musk via Twitter
- Jason Zweig via The Wall Street Journal
- Concerned Women for America
- Institute for the American Worker
- Jessica Anderson, Heritage Action Executive Director
- Kate Spitz, Associate Counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
- Kris Ullman, President of the Eagle Forum
- Kevin Kuhlman, Vice President of Federal Government Relations at the National Federation of Independent Business
- Parents Defending Education
- FreedomWorks
- Thomas Pyle, President of American Energy Alliance
Editor's Note: This piece was originally published on MRCTV.org.
