Biden’s first veto: Ends climate investment freeze for ESG pensions – USA TODAY
CNN
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President Joe Biden on Monday vetoed a resolution for the first time in his presidency to overturn a pension investment rule that would allow pension fund managers to consider the impact of climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors when making investment decisions. choosing investments.
Republican lawmakers led the push to pass the resolution through Congress, arguing that the rule is a “woke” policy that pushes a liberal agenda on Americans and hurts retiree business results, while Democrats say it’s not about ideology goes and investors will help.
The resolution, which would repeal a Department of Labor rule, was passed by both chambers of Congress with Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana voting with Republicans in the Senate.
“I just signed this veto because legislation passed by Congress would jeopardize the retirement savings of individuals across the country. They couldn’t account for investments that wouldn’t be impacted by the climate, which would be impacted by overpaying executives, so I decided to veto it – it makes sense to veto it.” Biden said in a video posted to social media Monday afternoon. .
Biden signs the veto in the video, taken earlier Monday in the Oval Office.
The veto fulfills Biden’s frequent promise to veto legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House that he disagrees with. Even before Republicans took control of that room, Biden often cited his ability to override their priorities. “The good news is I’m getting veto power,” he told a group of donors in Chicago just days before the November midterm elections.
Opponents of the rule could try to override Biden’s veto, but at this point it seems unlikely they will get the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber to do so.
Biden’s first presidential veto reflects the reality of a changed political order in Washington, with Republicans now in control of the House after winning back the chamber from Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections.
Previously, the Democrats controlled both the House and Senate. Now the president’s party only has a majority in the Senate.
Most legislation passed by the current GOP-controlled House will not be able to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate. But the resolution to overturn the investment rule only needed a simple majority to pass in the Senate. Republican lawmakers have brought it forward under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to roll back executive branch regulations without passing the 60-vote Senate threshold required for most legislation.
Opponents of the rule have argued that it politicizes pension investment and that the Biden administration is using it as a way to promote a liberal agenda.
Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso said at a news conference earlier this year: “What happened here is that the awake and armed bureaucracy at the Department of Labor has come up with new rules for pension funds and they want pension funds invested in things that in line with their very liberal, left-wing agenda.”
Proponents of the rule argue that it is not a mandate – it allows, but does not require, consideration of environmental, social and governance factors in the selection of investments.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in defense of the rule that Republicans are using “the same tired attacks that we’ve been hearing for a while, that this is more wakefulness. … But the Republicans miss or ignore an important point: nothing in the (Labour Department) rule imposes a mandate.”
“This isn’t about ideological preferences, it’s about looking at the biggest picture possible for investments to minimize risk and maximize returns,” he said, noting that it’s a narrow rule that “literally lets the free market do its job.” lets do”.
The policy statement warning that Biden would veto the measure if confronted similarly states: “The 2022 rule is not a mandate — it does not require a fiduciary to make investment decisions based solely on ESG factors. are based. The rule simply requires retirement plan fiduciaries to conduct a risk and return analysis of their investment decisions and recognizes that these factors may be relevant to that analysis.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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