Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Department of Labor Relating to ``Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights''
Floor Speech
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Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am glad this House joint resolution is before us today. We continue to march toward a different sort of government, and part of that different sort of government is the ESG ideology being imposed or encouraged on America's corporations.
This is an ideological push on corporations, of which there is too much already. Already, particularly big corporations have seminars giving the leftwing view of the environment, the leftwing view of race, the leftwing view of agenda.
This is to further push down on them and say: Here you are, Mr. Big Corporation. We will give you a nice pat on the back if you use all of your stockholders' money to promote a political agenda.
Obviously, that should be offensive to any freedom-loving person in America.
Of course, in addition to that, studies from UCLA and New York University show that the average corporation that engages in this ESG stuff, their market goes up 6.3 percent instead of 8.9 percent, so the shareholders have to pay a price.
To me, secondarily to the shareholders paying a price is this pound, pound, pound that we already get from the universities, that we already get from the popular culture and Hollywood, and now we have to get it from big business, that the traditional, freedom-loving moral values of America are something to be stepped aside, and we, big corporate America, are going to ingratiate ourselves to the leftwing bureaucrats in Washington by following the ESG standards.
I am very grateful that my good friend from North Carolina has let me give this speech, and I sincerely hope everybody stands up for freedom.
The other side of the aisle would not like it if the people who decide what ESG was, was written by Jim Jordan, okay? Maybe someday that will happen. I don't know.
I liked it better when the big corporations stayed out of this thing, but you want to put the sword over their throat and say: This is the view of the world that you must adopt. You must have seminars and shove it down the throats of your employees.
It will be a bad day for America if this thing doesn't pass.
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