Sustainable Investment Caucus Statement on Republicans' Congressional Review Act Resolution to Repeal the Department of Labor’s Rulemaking
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus released the following statement on H.J. Resolution 30, which repeals a Department of Labor rule allowing fiduciaries to consider ESG factors in investment decisions:
“We strongly oppose Republican efforts to overturn the Biden Administration’s rulemaking that gives retirement plan fiduciaries the option to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when they select retirement investments and exercise shareholder rights."
“Retirement plan fiduciaries should be free to consider climate change and other ESG factors without regulatory barriers or the threat of litigation. The rule from the Department of Labor does not require fiduciaries to consider ESG factors, it merely allows them to do so if it is in the best interest of their plan participants. This CRA resolution is the latest dangerous move in Republican’s anti-worker and anti-free market agenda.”
“The Trump Administration made clear that they did not trust investors and retirement plan fiduciaries to make their own decisions and unnecessarily restrained retirement plan fiduciaries' ability to weigh ESG factors when choosing investments. Under the Biden Administration, fiduciaries can ensure workers’ money is invested in ways that safeguard their retirement savings from risks, increase their investment choices to a full suite of ERISA-suitable products, and remove costly barriers to the exercise of their shareholder rights.
“We applaud the Biden Administration for undoing this wrong and urge our colleagues to protect workers’ hard-earned retirement savings by voting against this legislation.”
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Congressman Vargas represents California’s 52nd Congressional District which includes portions of San Diego County, all Imperial County, and a portion of California’s U.S.-Mexico border. Vargas was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 and is currently serving his sixth term in Congress. He serves on the powerful House Financial Services Committee.