Murphy Introduces ESG Legislation to Protect American Retirement Savings

Press Release

Today, Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) introduced the Safeguarding Investment Options for Retirement Act alongside Reps. Carol Miller (WV-03), David Schweikert (AZ-06), and Lloyd Smucker (PA-11). The legislation aims to protect investors from having politically motivated "woke' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues put ahead of hardworking Americans' investment returns.

"The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is supposed to protect retirement investment plans by requiring plan managers to be subject to fiduciary responsibilities," said Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. "However, the Biden administration's proposed changes to ERISA abandon fiduciary responsibility by allowing "woke' ESG factors to dictate investment returns -- putting Americans' retirement savings at risk. Our commonsense legislation would impose strict enforcement measures to ensure that "woke' Biden policies do not hinder Americans' retirement savings. I am grateful to Republican Attorney Generals across the nation who are fighting back against the Biden administration's radical policies and leading the charge against ESG at the state level."

"We need to do everything we can to not let this radical woke agenda derail the fiduciary obligations of plans to protect the hard-earned retirement savings of Americans," said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. "This bill would put in critical guard rails to prevent far left schemes from robbing people of the full returns on their investments that they deserve. As Attorney General of West Virginia, I am standing firm with my colleagues to fight back against the Biden administration's ESG policies that are waging an all-out war against traditional American energy and values."

"Washington liberals have weaponized the economy to attack our energy producers and force their woke ESG agenda on hardworking Americans," said Rep. Carol Miller. "Dr. Murphy's bill is an important safeguard against the Biden Administration's attempts to dictate investment returns based on unfounded ESG factors. At the state and federal levels, we must push back against these radical policies, protect Americans' retirement savings, and empower our energy industry."

"Protecting our retirees stems from a fiduciary duty, not a political agenda," said Rep. David Schweikert. "It is imperative the Biden administration does not go forward with its proposals to jeopardize the savings of our retirees by changing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Our seniors are suffering enough under this administration, this ESG agenda would push hard-working Americans further into misery and wipe out even more of their savings."

Background:

On October 14, 2021, the Department of Labor proposed changes to ERISA regulations that "may often require" environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans governed by ERISA. Recent data shows that large-cap funds with higher ESG ratings have seen a worse overall performance compared to those with lower ESG ratings. In fact, funds with a higher rating saw a loss of 13 percent on average last year. Rep. Murphy's Safeguarding Retirement Investment Options Act mandates a fiduciary of a plan to act solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the plan. This legislation builds upon similar legislation introduced by Reps. Andy Barr (KY-06) and Rick Allen (GA-12) earlier this year.

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