Guiding Uniform and Responsible Disclosure Requirements and Information Limits Act of 2023

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, sponsored by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), my good friend.

This important act includes two of my bills, the Protecting Retail Investors' Savings Act and the Banking Regulator International Reporting Act, to protect capitalism from the politicization of capital allocation and to curtail the Biden-Harris regulators' efforts to circumvent Congress and use regulation to force leftist climate policies down the throats of the American people.

In recent years, we have witnessed an alarming rise in asset managers favoring green and politically favored investments that deliver lower returns.

According to data from Morningstar last year, sustainable U.S. equity funds underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index by 5 percentage points. In 2022, the average sustainable ESG fund was down 19\1/2\ percent.

This stands to reason because ESG funds are, by design, less diversified. Studies show that fees for ESG funds average as much as 43 percent higher than non-ESG funds, further eroding investor returns. Too often, retail investors unwittingly sacrificed financial returns to advance the ESG movement.

It is time to stand up for American investors against the fraud of ESG. My bill would require investment advisers to prioritize financial performance over these nonpecuniary and political factors.

Additionally, the Federal banking agencies, in coordination with the Biden-Harris administration, are working with global governance bodies outside of our country and climate activists to put climate policies into supervision of U.S. financial institutions under the guise of concerns about safety, soundness, and stability.

When Congress questions their motives and actions, they claim they are just abiding by international standards in secret board meetings abroad. Congress and the American people deserve transparency and robust information on these meetings between U.S. regulators and foreign global governance groups, some of which include officials from our adversaries.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, regulators' independence is being severely threatened, as they are being politicized to achieve the dreams of the Green New Deal. For the safety of our economy and for the retirement security of our constituents, we must pass this legislation to end the politicization of capital allocation, not to harm capitalism, but to depoliticize capitalism, to take the government out of capitalism.

Mr. Speaker, that is why I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this legislation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source