WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) helped reintroduce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) measure to nullify the Department of Labor’s (DOL) recent rule to greenlight environmental, social, governance (ESG) investing in federal pension plans. 

“The woke ESG agenda is purely political and will drain the hard-earned savings of American families,” said Rep. Owens. “I am proud to support the Congressional Review Act to make sure a radical political agenda does not endanger the livelihoods of Americans in my district and across the nation.”

Background:

• In November, the Biden administration’s Department of Labor finalized the Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights rule, which allows fiduciaries to consider ESG factors when they make investments or take proxy votes for shareholders. The rule undoes a Trump administration rule that prioritized financial, rather than ideological, outcomes for investors.
• A Harvard Business Review study found that investing in funds that prioritize ESG goals results in poor return rates.

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