Republicans Proposed to Take on More Anti-ESG Fights by 2023

Republican lawmakers will be tackling the environment, social and governance agenda (ESG) this year. Many states such as Florida, Indiana and Oklahoma are aiming to use ESG policies for business purposes.

The Republican charge against ESG is being led by some of the GOP’s biggest names, including former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. DeSantis is troubled by the preference of ESG investors “woke corporate ideals” The report identifies financial and other nonfinancial factors that investors must consider when making investments. “People Before Corporate Power” presentation uploaded on the Florida governor’s website.

ESG is primarily affecting conservative Americans, soon to be retirees, religious believers, Second Amendment supporters, and other victims. “Biden border crisis,” It stated that every day Americans fill up their gas tank,

“ESG investors are corporate cartel elites who do not represent the will of the people, but rather base their investment strategies on social causes and virtue signaling while driving up costs for consumers in the name of diversity and sidelining hardworking Americans by threatening their livelihoods,” The presentation states.

The Florida governor has already proposed a framework for strict action against ESG policies that will be taken up in the March session by the state’s lawmakers.

This includes a) prohibiting credit card firms, big banks, and money transmitters from discriminating against customers for their political, religious, or social beliefs; b) requiring State Board of Administration (SBA) fund managers to focus only on maximizing the return on investment on behalf of Florida’s retirees; and c) prohibiting SBA fund managers from taking into account ESG factors when investing state money.

More GOP Action

State House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Ind. During a November floor speech, Todd Huston (Republican from Indiana) raised the issue that ESG considerations were applied to investments made through the Indiana Public Retirement System.

“We want—particularly within our pension funds—our pension fund managers to be focused on return on investment and not on energy and social policies,” Huston said According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, it was at that time. These issues will be taken up by the Republican leadership in Congress when the session starts this month.

Oklahoma Republican State Senator Casey Murdock proposed a bill banning government entities from entering contracts with companies with restrictive firearms policies. Texas introduced House Bill 645 to limit the use ESG criteria.

Six Republicans from the House Judiciary Committee sent a December letter to two executives of the steering committee in support of Climate Action 100+, an investor group. The letterGOP members blame ESG Agenda for restricting oil and gas investment and promoting abortion access, gun control, and other issues.

“When companies agree to work together to punish disfavored views or industries, or to otherwise advance environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, this coordinated behavior may violate the antitrust laws and harm American consumers,” The lawmakers wrote.

ESG Performance

Last year was a poor year for investment funds that adhered ESG policies. A Bloomberg analysis The 10 largest ESG funds in assets show that the S&P 500 Index fell by 14.8 percent by Dec. 5, but eight of the 10 funds were even worse.

Brown Advisory Sustainable Growth Fund was at the top of the list, with a decline of 28.1 percent. This is nearly twice the loss experienced by the S&P 500. According to a Bloomberg survey, 65 percent of respondents expected ESG funds this year to outperform the wider market.

“Given the challenges of 2022, there will be some recovery next year, but it will remain mixed,” Fionna Ross, an Edinburgh-based fund manager Abrdn Plc, said that ESG funds were necessary because of economic issues such as inflation in an interview.

Naveen Athrappully, a news reporter at The Epoch Times, covers business and global events.

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