Huizenga Delivers Remarks on the House Floor in Support of the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act

Huizenga Delivers Remarks on the House Floor in Support of the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act

Washington, September 19, 2024 -

Today, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (MI-04) led Republicans on the House floor as lawmakers debated H.R. 4790, the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act.

H.R. 4790 is a reflection of the combined effortsof Subcommittee Chairman Huizenga and Reps. Bryan Steil (WI-01), Ralph Norman (SC-05), and Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) to strengthen our financial system, preserve the dominance of U.S. capital markets, and protect the financial interests of investors and retirement savers from radical ESG initiatives.

Watch Rep. Huizenga's remarks here.

Read Rep. Huizenga's remarks as prepared for delivery:

"Today, we have the opportunity to ensure our financial system remains the envy of the world by passing H.R. 4790, the Promoting Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act.

"Under the Biden-Harris administration, supposedly independent agencies have been hijacked to push through a partisan environmental, social, and governance-or ESG-agenda.

"Unelected bureaucrats are forcing these left-wing political priorities-which Democrats were unable to pass into law even with unified control of Congress-on the American people through financial regulation.

"In other words, rogue Democrat-appointed regulators are forcing companies to waste their limited time and resources on ESG mandates that have little to do with a firm's financial performance.

"These misguided ESG efforts don't benefit our banking system or capital markets. They certainly don't help consumers, workers, job creators, everyday investors, or retirement savers.

"That's why House Republicans are fighting back with the Promoting Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act. This bill is critical to combat the risks woke ESG initiatives pose to the American people and our financial system.

"It is a combination of four packages from the Financial Services Committee, including my GUARDRAIL Act, Congressman Steil's Protecting Retirement Savings from Politics Act, Congressman Norman's Businesses Over Activists Act, and Congressman Loudermilk's American FIRST Act.

"I applaud my colleagues for their work and appreciate their partnership. I also commend Chairman McHenry for his steadfast leadership to ensure protecting Americans and our financial system from ESG mandates is a key priority for Republicans on the Financial Services Committee.

"I want to underscore why H.R. 4790 is so desperately needed. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, rogue regulators are weaponizing independent agencies to pursue the ESG objectives of the far left at the expense of our financial system and everyday investors.

"SEC Chair Gensler and progressive Democrats are abusing our securities laws, overstepping their statutory authority, and redefining the 'materiality standard' to accommodate the demands of radical climate and social activists.

"The 'materiality standard,' which has been a pillar of American securities law for decades, requires public companies to disclose information that has a substantial likelihood to influence the financial judgments of a reasonable investor.

"House Democrats have proposed legislation to require public companies to disclose non-material information-including information related to climate and emissions, human capital, and 'equity'-none of which have a substantial impact on a given firm's financial performance. None of these proposals were enacted into law.

"More recently, Chair Gensler's rogue SEC has overstepped its authority by pursuing rulemakings to mandate similar non-material disclosures. This includes finalizing the disastrous Climate Disclosure Rule earlier this year.

"Let me be clear, if this information is material to a business' financial performance, it's already required to be disclosed under the materiality standard.

"That's where my GUARDRAIL Act-a key pillar of the legislation we're considering today-comes in.

"It protects U.S. capital markets and the financial interests of everyday investors by rejecting this new, prescriptive, and expansive notion of materiality and reining in SEC overreach.

"Specifically, the bill prevents rogue regulators from mandating the disclosure of non-material ESG information that would overwhelm-not inform-everyday investors.

"At the same time, H.R. 4790 holds large asset managers and the proxy advisory duopoly of ISS and Glass Lewis accountable. These firms are abusing their outsized market influence to force left-wing political views on public companies, rather than aligning their shareholder voting with the financial interests of investors and economic goals.

"The Promoting Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act returns power to everyday investors and retirement savers from these unaccountable third parties.

"Additionally, the bill will reform the SEC's shareholder proposal process to stop progressive activists from hijacking the proxy process to inject woke ESG initiatives into corporate boardrooms.

"This will allow executives and directors to focus on creating shareholder value-benefiting retirement savers and bolstering economic growth.

"Finally, this bill will stop the alliance of left-wing activists, unaccountable global governance organizations, and politicized Biden-Harris regulators from weaponizing the U.S. banking regulatory framework to inject radical ESG initiatives to the detriment of consumers and American competitiveness.

"With the Promoting Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, House Republicans are taking action to protect the financial system, workers, job creators, and everyday investors from radical ESG initiatives that put left-wing political goals above American prosperity.

"I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4790, and I reserve the balance of my time."

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