The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation last week that targets changes to financial regulations.
The Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act (H.R. 4790), is a package of bills spearheaded by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), the chairman of the Republican ESG Working Group Subcommittee within the Financial Services Committee.
Huizenga, along with Reps. Bryan Steil (R-WI), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) introduced the package of bills, which include Huizenga’s GUARDRAIL Act, Steil’s Protecting Retirement Savings from Politics Act, Norman’s Businesses Over Activists Act, and Loudermilk’s American FIRST Act.
Huizenga’s bill seeks to prevent regulators from mandating the disclosure of non-material ESG information.
“House Democrats have proposed legislation to require public companies to disclose non-material information—including information related to climate and emissions, human capital, and ‘equity’—none of which have a substantial impact on a given firm’s financial performance. None of these proposals were enacted into law,” Huizenga said. “More recently, Chair Gensler’s rogue SEC has overstepped its authority by pursuing rulemakings to mandate similar non-material disclosures. This includes finalizing the disastrous Climate Disclosure Rule earlier this year. Let me be clear, if this information is material to a business’ financial performance, it’s already required to be disclosed under the materiality standard.”
Loudermilk’s American Financial Institution Regulatory Sovereignty and Transparency (American FIRST) Act will mandate enhanced reporting requirements for Federal banking regulators, while Steil’s Protecting Americans’ Savings from Politics Act will regulate proxy advisors.
Finally, Norman’s Businesses Over Activists Act would prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from compelling a publicly traded company to include a shareholder proposal or a discussion of a proposal in a proxy statement.
“Today’s legislation is a culmination of almost two years of work by House Republicans,” Huizenga said. “These sensible policies will encourage innovation, improve access to investment opportunities, and foster economic growth. The radical mandates being put forward by the Biden-Harris Administration have made it harder, not easier for my constituents to retire with financial security. The Promoting Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act corrects the misguided social policies that have been weaponized by rogue regulators and liberal activist investors at the expense of financial returns.”
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.