After House voted to stop a Labor Department regulation allowing retirement plans to consider the long-term effects of social elements and climate change on investments — a move Republicans claim is a “woke” policy that damages pensioners’ wallets — President Joe Biden issued his first veto on Monday.
In a video shared to Twitter, Biden stated, “I just signed this veto because the measure enacted by the Congress would put at risk retirement funds of individuals across the country. They were unable to account for investments that would be harmed by the overpaying of CEOs.
On March 1, Senate Republicans and two Democrats cast their votes on the proposal, which only required a simple majority to pass. Senators. Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who are both up for reelection in Republican states in 2018, sided with the opposition party.
The proposal was approved by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives last month. “Retirement plan fiduciaries should be empowered to examine any aspect that maximises financial returns for retirees across the country,” Biden stated in a message to the House.
That is simple logic, not contentious, he said.
Before the law reached his desk, Biden declared that he would veto it. To overcome Biden’s veto, Congress would require a two-thirds majority.
Describe ESG.
An investment strategy known as environmental, social, and governance, or ESG for short, considers organisations’ environmental and social risks as part of a larger financial examination.
Conservatives dubbed ESG as “awake.”
The ESG rule has been criticised by Republican lawmakers and conservative advocacy organisations.
The anti-ESG campaign is now led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who plans to seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
Due to the ruling, many Republican states, including Florida, Texas, and West Virginia, have opened investigations.
Right-wing-funded conservative lobbying organisations have launched a nationwide campaign in state legislatures. ESG, according to others, is only another instance of “woke” influence on major corporations.