Rep. Miller Joins Ways and Means Hearing on the Biden Administration's ESG Policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) joined the Ways and Means Committee hearing on the financial security of American seniors and retirees and what Congress can do to make sure they are not being taken advantage of by the Biden Administration’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activism.
 
Congresswoman Miller highlighted how ESG mandates are devastating coal communities and steering investment funds away from energy companies and toward woke, environmentalist corporations. Congresswoman Miller also questioned Marlo Oaks, Utah State Treasurer and Mason Bolay, Senior Vice President of First Bank and Trust Company, on the Biden Administration’s radical ESG policies.
 

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Congresswoman Miller on the devastating impact of ESG mandates on West Virginia energy communities:

“I am from the beautiful state of West Virginia, which for those who might not know, it is a leading energy producing state. Since 2008, the radical left-wing war on coal and, quite frankly [a war on] all forms of traditional base load energy, has devastated the communities in my home state of West Virginia. Despite Washington liberals’ best efforts, coal exports still amounted to $3.8 billion of economic activity in my home state. 
 
ESG mandates are just another opportunity for unelected bureaucrats to force freedom-loving Americans to accept one more step towards global socialism. We will never, never surrender to those who want to see our energy producing state destroyed, and we will fight these mandates tooth and nail.The fact that the Biden administration is encouraging retirement plan managers to steer investment funds away from profitable, time-tested energy companies and toward their pseudo-woke environmentalist corporations is not only fiscally irresponsible — it is a real slap in the face to hardworking folks like my constituents who are counting on these managers to do their job and ensure their retirement accounts are secure.

Thankfully, in West Virginia, we know better than to let “woke” leave us broke. We’ve experienced it. In March, our state established a law which prevents the state Investment Management Board or fund managers from considering “environmental, social, and corporate governance” factors when managing retirees' finances."

Congresswoman Miller questioned Mr. Oaks on the impact of the Biden Administration’s ESG policies on retirees:

Mr. Oaks, you come from a state which has also taken a stand against the administration’s misguided ESG policies. Can you tell us how retirees in your state are better off now that their financial managers are focused solely on financial returns?” asked Congresswoman Miller.
 
“I think one of the key issues is that asset managers have committed all of their assets under management to drive this agenda. So it's not just ESG funds that are pushing ESG policies and that’s really the challenge here. The Utah legislature took several actions this past legislative session to protect Utahns. Very importantly, we passed a fiduciary standards law that included voting proxies for the best interests in the best interest of the beneficiaries. We worked on a fiduciary bill, I sit on the boards of the Utah retirement systems and the school and institutional trust fund, our sovereign wealth fund. And we've worked to ensure that our proxy voting is in the best interest of our beneficiaries, that we're upholding the fiduciary standards, and that we do not want ESG or investment managers pushing ESG agendas on behalf of our retirees and the school children of Utah,” said Mr. Oaks.

Rep. Miller questioned Mr. Bolay on how ESG policies have the potential to harm small community banks and businesses: 
 
“Mr. Bolay, I loved hearing about your background and your family farm. Some of the people here may not know but Chairman Smith and I are both bison farmers – so hearing the implications of ESG issues on family-run businesses and operations is important to me personally. Can you talk a bit more about how ESG policies have the potential to harm small community banks and businesses?” asked Congresswoman Miller.
 
“Main street is always taking care of main street and it’s best if you let us take care of main street and not have top-down driven policies,” said Mr. Bolay.
 
Background:

• Last Congress, Congresswoman Miller introduced the Safeguarding Investment Options for Retirement Actthat requires fiduciaries of employer-sponsored retirement plans to make investment decisions based only on financial factors.
• The “Environmental, Social, and Governance” term refers to efforts by business managers, government actors, and institutional investors to incorporate ESG factors into business and financial decision making.

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