Paxton urges Congress not to approve Biden administration’s ESG rule

Austin, Texas — Attorney General Paxton has joined the Utah-led coalition calling on Congressional leaders to use their powers under the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) to repeal the President’s Environment, Social and Governance (“ESG”) rule. . Biden’s Department of Labor (“DOL”). Paxton also filed a lawsuit in January to overturn the rule and prevent it from hurting Americans’ retirement accounts.

If the rule is not repealed, it will allow some asset managers to prioritize non-financial factors such as ESG considerations over what is in their clients’ financial interests. It could empty the retirement accounts of millions of hard-working citizens who have been saving and planning for decades with the confidence of financial security. This rule also conflicts with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), which was passed by Congress to ensure that individuals managing certain accounts adhere to strict fiduciary requirements for responsible investment of funds.

The letter says: “Given the detrimental impact of this egregious violation of federal law on millions of Americans, we call on Congress not to approve the 2022 rule. Under the CRA, Congress has the power to overturn this federal rule by issuing a joint resolution of disapproval. However, Congress only has a limited sixty-day period to disapprove this rule and must act immediately. Senator Mike Brown and Rep. Andy Barr introduced a joint resolution to repeal the 2022 rule. We ask every member of the United States Congress to support this resolution to prevent wealth managers from sacrificing Americans’ hard-earned retirement savings for political reasons.”

To read the letter in full, click here.