Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Department of Labor Relating to ``Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights''

Floor Speech

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 166, I call up joint resolution (H.J. Res. 30) providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to ``Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,'' and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 30, a Congressional Review Act resolution nullifying the Biden administration's attempt to politicize the retirement savings of Americans.

ESG investing puts the future of millions of Americans in jeopardy. Due to Biden's reckless economic policies, too many Americans are worried about the rising costs of living. Diverting retirement savings to fund social justice causes will make this problem even worse. For current retirees, the situation is especially salient.

Last year, the Biden Department of Labor published a rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to consider environmental, social, and governance, ESG, factors for making investment decisions and exercising shareholder rights.

The rule removed commonsense protections for retirement savings established by the Trump administration, which ensured that retirement plan fiduciaries evaluate investments and exercise shareholder rights based only on the financial benefits to participants and beneficiaries. That is what retirement savers expect.

Now, thanks to Democrats, workers can be placed into ESG investment vehicles by default. If a fiduciary finds that two investments are equal, the fiduciary is allowed to use collateral ESG factors to break the tie without justifying or documenting that decision.

While my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have argued that the Biden rule is neutral, they have done a poor job of hiding the administration's true intentions.

The Department issued the rule in response to two executive orders on climate change and the explanation of the rule is littered with Democrats' preferred political projects, such as labor relations, climate change, and workforce and corporate diversity.

Further, DOL officials have repeatedly stated that they will pursue additional actions concerning ESG and retirement plans.

The left is using ESG investment criteria as a political tool to cudgel companies into accepting leftist policies. This is how the left always operates. This is just the first step.

If we let this continue, the left will use ESG investing to push noncompliant companies out of the marketplace. This is pernicious and it is hypocritical.

It is unacceptable to encourage fiduciaries to sacrifice the savings of Americans to the orthodoxy of the woke left. In fact, this is prohibited under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, ERISA, as affirmed by the Supreme Court.

Yet, the Biden administration's rule permitting and encouraging retirement plan fiduciaries to consider ESG when investing workers' savings flips ERISA on its head.

By paving the way for ESG investing in employer-sponsored retirement plans, President Biden is threatening the retirement savings of Americans. Such a fundamental change to ERISA should be debated and considered in Congress, not enacted through executive fiat illegally. Americans invest to secure their future, not to fund the Green New Deal or leftist pet projects.

Fiduciaries governed by ERISA should not be allowed to make investments they know will not pay off. A fiduciary's most important responsibility is to make investments that are in the financial interests of workers and retirees.

It is time to stop this madness. That is why I support the resolution to nullify the Biden administration's destructive retirement plan rule.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to put workers and retirees above politics and vote for this resolution.

It is a little ironic that our side of the aisle is being accused of being anticapitalist and anti-free market. I would like to clarify for the record the content of the Trump Department of Labor rule on retirement plan ESG investing.

Under the Trump rule, if a fiduciary finds that an ESG factor is a pecuniary or financial factor, it can be considered when investing and exercising shareholder rights.

Here are a few excerpts of the Trump rule, to set the record straight:

``Nothing in the final rule is intended to or does prevent a fiduciary from appropriately considering any material risk with respect to an investment.''

Another quote: ``The ERISA fiduciary duty of prudence requires portfolio-level attention to risk and return objectives reasonably suited to the purpose of the account, diversification, cost sensitivity, documentation, and ongoing monitoring.''

``The proposal was not intended to suggest that these principles apply other than neutrally to all investment decisions. . . . ''

To suggest that the Trump rule barred a fiduciary from appropriately considering any factor that may be material to an investment is blatantly false. If anything, the Trump rule was neutral as to the prudent decisions of fiduciaries.

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.J. Res. 30, to stop the Biden administration from decimating the retirement savings of millions of Americans.

ESG funds will not give retirees the secure future they need. According to a former BlackRock senior executive, ESG funds underperformed the broader market compared to non-ESG funds over the last 5 years.

Retirees are already worried about the rising costs of goods and services, not whether a company is using plastic straws in its cafeteria.

Americans deserve to have a secure retirement. This means retirement plans need to focus solely on workers' financial interests. That is why I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 30, and I encourage my colleagues to vote against this measure.

H.J. Res. 30 would nullify a Department of Labor rule concerning the fiduciary duties with respect to employee benefit plans.

Under the rule issued on December 1, 2022, plan fiduciaries may consider climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when they make investment decisions and when they exercise shareholder rights, including voting on shareholder resolutions and board nominations.

One of my greatest joys as a Member of Congress is the opportunity to work on behalf of the people of the United States of America, to ensure that every voice is heard, and every right is upheld.

In addition, the future of the American People relies heavily on thoughtful investments in key areas that include ESG as this is the backbone of our environment and the state of livelihoods of our growing communities.

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, fiduciaries of private pension plans must act in the interest of plan participants, including when making investment decisions.

If participants want to invest their employee benefits into environmental, social, and governance factors, the government should not be against it just because it goes against a particular party's interests.

The rule ``Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments,'' issued on November 13, 2020, required fiduciaries to make investment decisions based solely on ``pecuniary factors.''

That rule included a ``tiebreaker'' standard, under which fiduciaries could consider other benefits when ``alternative investment options are economically indistinguishable.''

The 2022 rule clarified how plan fiduciaries may consider climate change and other environmental, social, or governance (commonly referred to as ESG) factors when making investment decisions.

Under the new regulation, fiduciaries may consider ``the economic effects of climate change and other environmental, social, or governance factors,'' but investment decisions ``may not subordinate the interests of the participants and beneficiaries in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives and may not sacrifice investment return or take on additional investment risk.''

This bill establishes the disapproval of the final rule ``Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.''

The world is seeing more climate related disasters than ever before.

These disasters are greatly impacting the way that the public prepares their finances for potential strains.

In 2017 Hurricane Harvey ravaged many communities in my home state and devastated the livelihoods of many working-class Americans.

Many of my constituents experienced economic hardships that are still being felt today.

With an increase in natural disasters, we must protect the American public and provide them with opportunities to invest in their needs.

This point serves to acknowledge the importance we must put into our people and communities as things change and we continue to progress into the future.

Strategic and thoughtful investments in our people, environments, and livelihoods should be of utmost importance.

In essence, our future is dependent on how we invest in the now.

The American people want a future, and we can provide that by thoughtfully planning through our strategic investments in the American people of all backgrounds and the diverse environments in which we aim to thrive in for decades to come.

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