Retirement Savings Are Not a Political FootballOnce again, Democrats are bowing to the woke mob.They are trying to weaponize their radical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda to force their far-left, Green New Deal ideology on the American people.On November 22, 2022, the Biden Department of Labor released a final rule to expand and facilitate the practice of retirement plans using workers’ invested funds to pursue environmental and social causes. The rule gives retirement plan managers the green light to factor ESG into investment decisions for the retirement funds of more than 152 million Americans. It even allows plan managers to automatically enroll retirement savers into ESG investments.At a time when Americans are seeing their 401(k)s plummet and inflation soar, the last thing that the Biden Administration should do is encourage financial managers to make decisions that put left-wing environmental and social issues ahead of retirees’ financial security.
Let’s be clear: Retirement plans should be solely focused on delivering maximum returns for the men and women who rely on them, not advancing a political agenda. H.J. Res. 30, introduced by Rep. Andy Barr, will block the Department of Labor’s rule green-lighting ESG investing in retirement plans by utilizing the Congressional Review Act’s expedited procedures to allow Congress to consider whether to block newly enacted federal rules.House Republicans are proud to stand up against Democrats’ woke ESG agenda for the millions of Americans who depend on their 401(k)s for their retirement.
Taking Steps to Rein In BidenflationMillions of hard-working Americans are feeling pain each time they buy food at the grocery store or fill their car up with gas.
- Food has increased by 10.1 percent
- Electricity has increased by 11.9 percent
- Utility natural gas has increased by 26.7 percent
President Biden recently claimed, “Inflation is coming down. Take-home pay for workers has gone up.” That was a lie. In January 2021, when President Biden first entered the White House, the inflation rate was 1.4 percent. In January 2023, the annual inflation rate hit 6.4 percent. Under President Biden, real average hourly earnings have fallen by about 4 percent. Over the past 12 months, real average hourly earnings have decreased by 1.8 percent.Because of President Biden’s and the Democrats’ inflationary policies, Americans have lost roughly $10,000 in savings.
It’s time to take real action, audit the Biden Administration’s wasteful spending, and reverse Democrats’ self-made inflation crisis. House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s legislation, H.R. 347, the Reduce Exacerbated Inflation Negatively Impacting the Nation Act, requires the Office of Management and Budget and the Council of Economic Advisers to provide an inflation estimate for each Executive Order that is projected to cause an annual gross budgetary effect of at least $1 billion.