Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee formed a Republican Working Group to combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) proposals.
The working group will be led by U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. It also includes U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner (R-MO), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Bryan Steil (R-WI), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), Erin Houchin (R-IN), and Andy Ogles (R-TN).
“This group will develop a comprehensive approach to ESG that protects the financial interests of everyday investors and ensures our capital markets remain the envy of the world. Financial Services Committee Republicans as a whole will continue our work to expand capital formation, hold Biden’s rogue regulators accountable, and support American job creators,” U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said.
The working group will examine ways to rein in what they perceive as the SEC’s regulatory overreach; reinforce the materiality standard as a pillar of the disclosure regime; and hold to account market participants who misuse the proxy process to impose ideological preferences in ways that circumvent democratic lawmaking. In addition, the working group will coordinate Republicans’ response to the ESG movement through Member education and policy development across the committee’s jurisdiction and throughout the broader House Republican Conference.
“Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia vs EPA that government bureaucracies cannot arbitrarily expand their own regulatory reach,” Huizenga said. “The SEC’s climate disclosure rule is a prime example of this overreach — that would have a wide-ranging impact on hard-working Americans across all walks of life. I look forward to leading our committee’s ESG working group, which will focus on promoting strong, vibrant capital markets while defending the interests of all retail investors.”