(Republicaninformer.com)- Last week, the Senate passed a resolution that would overturn a retirement investment rule instituted by the Biden administration in relation to what retirement fund managers can and can’t do when they choose investments.
The rule from the White House allowed these managers to consider the potential impact of ESG factors – or environmental, social and governance – as well as climate change when they are choosing the investments for the retirement plans they run.
Republicans fired back at the rule, calling it “woke” and one that pushes another liberal agenda on Americans. They say it will hurt the pockets of retirees in America, while Democrats have fired back that it will actually help investors.
The rule came out of the Department of Labor.
After the Senate passed the resolution, the House did, too, which means that President Joe Biden will be the next to receive it for a possible signature. It’s very possible, however, that the president will issue a veto on the bill – which would mark the first time he’s used that power during his presidency.
It’s possible that if Biden were to veto the bill, members of Congress could try to override that veto. Most political pundits believe that would be a tough hill to climb, though, as it would require the support of a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House.
Republican Senator Mike Braun from Indiana authored the resolution. Since it’s a resolution and not a full-fledged bill, it only needed a simple majority to pass through the House, and not a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority.
The resolution passed by a 50-46 vote. Democratic Senators Jon Tester from Montana and Joe Manchin from West Virginia sided with Republicans on the matter.
This was all done under what’s known as the Congressional Review Act. It gives the chambers of Congress the power to roll back executive branch regulations with a simple majority in the Senate rather than the 60 votes that are typically needed to avoid the filibuster.
Those who are against Biden’s rule say it will politicize investments for retirement accounts. They also say the White House is using this rule to push their liberal agenda on millions of Americans.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell commented recently:
THe Biden administration wants to let Wall Street use workers’ hard-earned savings to pursue left-wing political initiatives.”
And John Barrasso, a Republican senator from Wyoming, commented last week:
“What’s happened here is the woke and weaponized bureaucracy at the Department of Labor has come out with new regulations on retirement funds, and they want retirement funds to be invested in things that are consistent with their very liberal, left-wing agenda.”
Those who support Biden’s rule say that it doesn’t mandate retirement fund managers to take anything into consideration at all. Instead, they say it just allows these people to make ESG factors part of the consideration when they’re making their investment decisions.
