49 Republican Senators and 1 Democrat Unite to Oppose ESG Rule

(TotalConservative.com) – 50 senators have come together to oppose a rule supported by the Biden administration which affects Americans’ 401(k) retirement plans. The rule, which took effect on Jan. 30, permits retirement managers to base their investment decisions on standards known as ESG (environment, social, and governance).

The group is very much a Republican effort, with 49 of the senators being members of the GOP, yet one Democratic senator has joined the effort and is encouraging his colleagues on both sides also to oppose ESG-led investment decisions that are dipping into Americans’ retirement plans.

West Virginian Sen. Joe Manchin called the Biden administration “irresponsible” for jeopardizing the retirement savings of over 150 million Americans “for purely political purposes.” He said the new ESG rule of the Labor Department only further exacerbates “the serious economic challenges” already being faced by these citizens.

The resolution aimed at reversing the rule was introduced by Republican Senators Mike Braun of Indiana and Andy Barr of Kentucky. Like Manchin, they stated the new rule was “jeopardizing” millions of Americans’ retirement savings “for a political agenda.”

Many groups are endorsing the resolution to reverse the ESG rule, such as various state treasurers and 25 GOP state attorneys general who are suing the Labor Department over the ESG rule. Also supporting the resolution to overturn it is the policy group Advancing American Freedom, whose director stated in a letter that it’s “politically inappropriate” and “financially irresponsible” to force Americans into ESG investment.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is a big opponent of ESG rules, supporting a resolution last August to ban state pension funds in Florida from considering the standards. He called the standards an abuse of power by corporations who are trying to “impose an ideological agenda on American people through the perversion of financial investment priorities” under the guise of ESG as well as DIE (diversity, inclusion, and equity).

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