McHenry and Waters in January. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
House Republicans are working through a package of anti-ESG bills that represents their most comprehensive marker yet in their crusade against climate-friendly investing.
Why it matters: The package translates Republican talking points to legislation and offers a policy blueprint for a future GOP administration.
Driving the news: The Financial Services Committee was marking up four bills Thursday that would overhaul proxy voting on environmental shareholder proposals and curb regulators' authority to require climate-related disclosures from public companies.
- One bill would limit Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements to information that companies deem "material," potentially excluding emissions and climate risk.
- Another would allow companies to exclude shareholder proposals related to environment, social and governance issues.
- Republicans also propose to ban regulators from engaging with international financial groups on climate risk — unless they submit a report to Congress detailing their activities.
What they're saying: The legislative slate is about "restoring our free markets and the free flow of capital," said Chair Patrick McHenry.
- Ranking member Maxine Waters said to jeers from Republicans in the hearing room: "This committee is being forced by the extreme MAGA wing of the Republican Party to address a trove of anti-ESG, anti-investor and wholly anti-capitalist bills."
Zoom in: Republicans are particularly focused on shareholder proposals and proxy votes because activist groups have used them to push public companies to be more climate-friendly.
- In 2022, for instance, Costco shareholders passed a resolution calling on the company to plan for net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Boeing shareholders backed a similar measure from activist investor group As You Sow.
- The bills also seek to curb the role of proxy advisory firms, which offer advice to investors about how to vote on shareholder proposals, including by requiring them to register with the SEC.
Our thought bubble: These bills probably aren't going to become law this Congress. But the ideas could be influential.
- Think back to the Trump administration, which dismantled climate-risk initiatives at financial regulatory agencies and made a rule to stop banks from pulling back from fossil fuel investments.
- Plus, the ESG backlash has potential to shape markets.
- BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, one of the anti-ESG movement's chief targets, recently expressed regret about how the topic has been politicized.
