Today, Speaker Kevin McCarthy held his first signing ceremony in the 118th Congress for H.J. Res. 30, a bipartisan joint resolution that would nullify the Biden administration’s rule that would allow fiduciaries to prioritize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors over returns for stockholders.
Rep. Andy Barr, the sponsor of H.J. Res. 30, has been leading the fight in the House against ESG and woke politics.
At the ceremony, Speaker McCarthy and Members of the House Republican Conference heard from everyday Americans on the devastating impact the Biden administration’s ESG rule would have on their retirement.
Highlights of their remarks are available below.
Speaker McCarthy: “This is a resolution that strongly deserves to become law. We know it isn’t the end of the fight, but it’s a very strong beginning… He’s prioritized his own politics over people. And that is wrong. I hope the president will actually do the right thing, side with the American people, and sign this bill immediately. Otherwise, he’ll be on record defending a woke ESG rule that undermines Americans’ financial security.”
Allison Ball, Treasurer of Kentucky: “I have been fighting to make sure our pension systems are strong and people can retire, so I’ve been pushing back against the ESG movement… Pension systems and retirement investments, they were about getting good returns, making sure that people could retire at the end of their work life and we need to return to that mentality. We don’t need to push ideological agendas. We don’t need to push anything that is progressive. We need to focus on getting good returns so people can retire at the end of their work life.”
Charlie Masters: “We’ve heard about the effect of ESG on people’s future, [but] I want to talk a little bit about its effect here in the present. ESG has an effect on us our two biggest expenses on the farm, fuel and fertilizer and ESG managed to put those two together… We look forward to President Biden signing this bill and support our farm by cutting our costs and also allowing us to reduce the price of our food to our customers.”
Fred Lueher: “I’m here today because I’m concerned that the new ESG rule could put my retirement savings at risk to serve a woke agenda. There is no reason that ESG rule should exist. Everyday Americans like myself are tired of watching politicians in D.C. making everything political at the expense of hardworking people. What matters when it comes to retirement accounts like mine is how much my balance is not whether the company’s in my 401K plan support environmental and other political policies.”
