TREASURER MOORE CONDEMNS BIDEN VETO OF WOKE ESG RETIREMENT RULE REPEAL

West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore today strongly condemned President Joe Biden’s veto of a Congressional Resolution to repeal the U.S. Department of Labor’s harmful rule that will expose American workers’ retirement plans to harmful, deceptive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investment practices.

“With his first veto, President Biden has made clear he stands with the woke capitalists and their radical globalist agenda instead of the best interests and financial security of the American people,” Treasurer Moore said. “This rule will allow Wall Street elites to use the pension and retirement plans of millions of hard-working Americans to advance left-wing social agendas that undermine our citizens’ values and way of life.

“A bipartisan majority in Congress spoke loud and clear that they thought this rule was harmful and went too far, yet President Biden chose to ignore the will of the people’s elected representatives. Congress is supposed to write the laws in this country, not unelected agency bureaucrats serving deep-state agendas.”

In November, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a new rule that gives investment managers broad discretion to consider ESG factors in their retirement plan products – repealing protections against the practice that had been put in place under the Trump Administration.

Treasurer Moore opposed the new rule at the time, and joined with more than 100 organizations and officials to endorse federal legislation spearheaded by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., to block the new rule.

A coalition of 25 state Attorneys General, including West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, is also challenging the rule in court.