On Wednesday, the United States Senate voted in support of a resolution that would overturn a recently-implemented policy at Biden’s Department of Labor (DOL) allowing retirement plans to use ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) factors to determine certain investment decisions.
As reported by the New York Post, all 48 Republicans present voted in favor of the bill, along with two Democrats: Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.). The measure passed by a margin of 50-46, with four senators absent from the vote.
The measure now heads to the desk of Joe Biden, who is expected to use his first-ever veto in rejecting it.
“The Senate made the right decision to vote down Biden’s rule to harm Americans’ retirement savings. I am proud to lead this bipartisan challenge,” said Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.), the bill’s sponsor, on Wednesday. “President Biden: keep your hands off our 401(k)s!”
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) similarly denounced the “woke ESG rule,” arguing that it would let “Wall Street use your retirement savings to fund left-wing political causes.” A similar anti-ESG bill was passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, by a 216-204 vote.
“The House blocked Biden’s woke ESG agenda,” McCarthy continued. “The Senate blocked Biden’s woke ESG agenda. Now it heads to the President’s desk. He must side with American workers and sign it immediately.”
But the White House issued a statement defending the DOL rule, vowing to veto the bill.
“The President will continue to deliver for America’s workers. If the President were presented with H.J. Res. 30, he would veto it,” the statement read. “The rule reflects what successful marketplace investors already know — there is an extensive body of evidence that environmental, social, and governance factors can have material impacts on certain markets, industries, and companies.”
ESG is an international set of standards that many companies use to determine their own, or another company’s, dedication to far-left values, including stances on alleged “global warming,” as well as various socio-political issues such as gay rights, “transgenderism,” or race-based hiring practices. When a company uses ESG to judge other companies, it may affect which entities it does business with or makes investments in.