November 22, 2022

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s Statement on Federal Government’s Plan to Allow Retirement Fund Managers to Prioritize ESG

(AUSTIN) — Once again, President Biden is using unelected bureaucrats at the Department of Labor (DOL) to push his radical environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda, undermine the Texas economy and jeopardize our national security and energy independence.

Even as free market forces begin to erode the ESG fairy tale and expose the intellectual dishonesty and utter lack of transparency in this investment scam, President Biden is using the DOL rulemaking process to double down on policies that put his social agenda above the retirement needs of hard-working Americans.

Perhaps hoping no one would notice, two days before Thanksgiving, President Biden’s DOL finalized a rule that reversed rules set by the Trump administration that ensured retirement fund managers lived up to their fiduciary duties by selecting investments based solely on “pecuniary factors.” That meant fund managers placed profits and returns ahead of social agendas and prioritized ensuring participants had the resources needed to support themselves during retirement.

When this new rule goes into effect, that will no longer be the case. Fund managers will be free to consider climate change and other ESG factors rather than aiming to deliver the highest possible returns for American retirees. These retirees will see their hard-earned dollars diminish as ESG funds fail to deliver promised returns while simultaneously charging higher fees, even as the value of their remaining dollars purchase less due to inflation.

As Biden’s inflation exacerbates food insecurity, threatens our economy and saps the longevity of retirement accounts — while the global energy crisis rages on and our fellow Americans struggle to heat their homes — the president and his out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats remain committed to the same “green-new-deal” agenda that prioritizes ESG fantasies over the needs of hard-working Americans.