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February 7, 2023

To Members of Congress:

Each year, millions of new Americans retire from their jobs. Most of these retirees will have spent decades working hard to save as much money as they are able to in order to sustain them through a decade or more of retirement. The savings these Americans rely on are often managed by employer-sponsored plans (such as 401ks), for which the federal government established minimum standards and safeguards in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

A pernicious practice known as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing has emerged over the past several decades. Rather than prioritize the financial well-being and stability of retirees, ESG seeks to advance ideological goals related to environmental policy and other divisive subjects. While it is a tenet of a free society that people ought to be able to use their own money as they see fit (including advancing their own particular priorities), ESG is a misappropriation of retirees’ savings by money managers for their own political agendas. Most Americans think it’s a bad idea for companies to use their financial influence to advance a political or social agenda, as is the case in ESG investing.1

Forcing Americans into ESG investment is not only politically inappropriate, it is also financially irresponsible. According to research from the University of Chicago, mutual funds scoring highly on ESG factors are constantly outperformed by funds rated lowest for ESG.2 Moreover, 85 percent of the country does not even know what “ESG” is, and therefore would not be aware of the financial risks their retirement account managers are subjecting them to when they actively pursue ESG investment decisions.3

Under the Trump-Pence administration, the U.S. government protected retirees from this kind of abuse by issuing a rule clarifying that, under ERISA, the managers of retirement funds could not engage in ESG investment if it would have a negative impact on retiree’s savings or expose them to additional risks (“Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments”).

Tragically, on November 22, 2022, the Biden administration chose to undermine the Trump-Pence safeguards by issuing their own ERISA rule that would make it easier for retirement fund managers to imperil retirees’ savings. With 22 percent of Americans set to be relying upon their retirement savings and benefits in 2050, this policy of misappropriation cannot be allowed to stand.

Fortunately, Congress can overturn the Biden administration’s dangerous ESG rule through the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Under the CRA, the new Congress can review and disapprove of rules issued in the last 60 days of the previous Congress. There is a limited lookback period authorized under the CRA, so it is critical that Congress act quickly.

Today, Senator Mike Braun and Representative Andy Barr introduced joint resolutions which would block Biden’s ERISA rule and protect Americans from dangerous investment management practices. We, the undersigned organizations and officials, are calling on every member of the United States Congress to support these resolutions and stop Biden’s ideological embezzling of Americans’ retirement accounts.


1 “Daily Wire – ESG Survey,” Echelon Insights, Accessed January 4, 2023, http://echeloninsights.com/wp-content/uploads/Daily-Wire-May-2022-ESG-Survey-Topline.pdf.
2 Sanjai Bhagat, “An Inconvenient Truth About ESG Investing,” Harvard Business Review, March 31, 2022, https://hbr.org/2022/03/an-inconvenient-truth-about-esg-investing.
3 “ESG Monitor 2022,” SEC Newgate, Accessed January 4, 2023, https://globalstrategygroup.com/wp- content/uploads/2012/07/SEC-Newgate-ESG-Monitor-2022_Final.pdf.

Sincerely,

Paul Teller
Executive Director
Advancing American Freedom

James L. Martin Founder/Chairman 60 Plus Association

Melissa Ortiz Senior Advisor Able Americans

Dr. Carl Herbster President AdvanceUSA

Bethany Marcum
Chief Executive Officer Alaska Policy Forum

Lisa Nelson
Chief Executive Officer ALEC Action

Bob Carlstrom President AMAC Action

Michael Faulkender
Chief Economist
America First Policy Institute

Thomas Jones
President
American Accountability Foundation

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
American Association of Senior Citizens

Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment

Jameson Taylor, Ph.D.
Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs American Family Association

Tom DeWeese President
American Policy Center

Gary L. Bauer President American Values

Allen Hebert
Chairman
American-Chinese Fellowship

Richard Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government

Brent Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer Americans for Prosperity

Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform

Robert Alt
President & CEO
The Buckeye Institute

John Toedtman Executive Director Caesar Rodney Institute

Ralph Benko Chairman
The Capitalist League

Ryan Ellis
President
Center for a Free Economy

Daniel J. Mitchell
President
Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Jeffrey Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom

John Hinderaker
President
Center of the American Experiment

Shannon O. Royce, J.D. President
Christian Employers Alliance

Steve Goreham
Executive Director
Climate Science Coalition of America

Scott Parkinson
Vice President of Government Affairs Club for Growth

Richard Morrison
Senior Fellow
Competitive Enterprise Institute

Curt Levey
President
The Committee for Justice

Penny Y. Nance
CEO and President
Concerned Women for America LAC

The Honorable George K. Rasley, Jr. Managing Editor ConservativeHQ.com

Dr. Steven J. Allen (J.D., Ph.D.) Vice Chairman
The Conservative Caucus

James Edwards
Founder and Executive Director Conservatives for Property Rights

Steven J. Buri President Discovery Institute

Jerry R. Simmons
President/CEO
Domestic Energy Producers Alliance

Kristen A. Ullman President
Eagle Forum

Suzi Voyles
President
Eagle Forum of Georgia

Gayle Ruzicka President
Eagle Forum of Utah

Malon Wilkus
President
The Enterprise Supporting Climate Science

David D. Wallace, II President
Fair Energy Foundation

Ralph Reed
Chairman
Faith and Freedom Coalition

Paul Caprio Director
Family PAC Federal

Richard A. Viguerie Chairman
FedUp PAC

David Bozell President ForAmerica

Tarren Bragdon
President and CEO
Foundation for Government Accountability

Scott Shepard
Director
Free Enterprise Project

Adam Brandon President FreedomWorks

Travis Korson
Director of Public Policy Frontiers of Freedom

Victor Riches President & CEO Goldwater Institute

James Taylor President
The Heartland Institute

Jessica Anderson
Executive Director
Heritage Action for America

Collin Moseley
State Director
Illinois Freedom Caucus

Chris Miller
Member
Illinois House of Representatives

Heather R. Higgins
Chief Executive Officer Independent Women’s Voice

F. Vincent Vernuccio, J.D. President
Institute for the American Worker

Andrew Langer President
Institute for Liberty

Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation

Brian Balfour
Senior VP of Research John Locke Foundation

Sal Nuzzo
Senior Vice President
The James Madison Institute

Tucker Davis
President
Kentucky Coal Association

Kimberly P. Moser
Member
Kentucky House of Representatives

Morton Blackwell President Leadership Institute

Seton Motley Founder and President Less Government

Jason Isaac Director Life:Powered

Raymond E. “Ray” Garofalo, Jr. Member
Louisiana House of Representatives

L. Brent Bozell Founder and President Media Research Center

Tim Jones
Former Speaker
Missouri House of Representatives

David Ridenour
President
National Center for Public Policy Research

Paul Stam
Former Speaker Pro Tempore
North Carolina House of Representatives

Kevin Freeman Founder
NSIC Institute

Gerard Kassar
State Chairman
NYS Conservative Party

Lawrence G. Keane
SVP Government and Public Affairs NSSF

Justin Bis
Interim President Ohio Coal Association

Duvi Honig
Founder CEO
Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce

Senator Rick Santorum Founder
Patriot Voices

Daniel Erspamer
Chief Executive Officer Pelican Institute

Rachel Gleason
Executive Director Pennsylvania Coal Alliance

Andre E. Cushing III Commissioner
Penobscot County, Maine

Fran Bevan
State Leader, Pennsylvania Phyllis Schlafly Eagles

William L. O’Brien
Chairman
Pine Tree Public Policy Institute

Horace Cooper
Chairman
Project 21 Black Leadership Network

Charles R. Gerow
Chief Executive Officer Quantum Communications

Matt Bell
Chief Executive Officer Reliable Energy, Inc

Mike Stenhouse
Chief Executive Officer
Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity

Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation

Derek Kreifels
Chief Executive Officer
State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF)

Andrew Roth
President
State Freedom Caucus Network

Kimberly Yee Treasurer
State of Arizona

Daniel Elliott Treasurer
State of Indiana

John M. Schroder Treasurer
State of Louisiana

David McRae Treasurer
State of Mississippi

Marlo Oaks Treasurer State of Utah

Riley Moore Treasurer
State of West Virginia

John Hostettler
Vice President of Federal Affairs States Trust

David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Krissy Lilljedahl
Executive Administrator
Texas Mining and Reclamation Association

Greg Sindelar
Chief Executive Officer
Texas Public Policy Foundation

Donald L. Luskin
Chief Investment Officer TrendMacro

Frank Lasee
President
Truth in Energy and Climate

Chris Hamilton
President
West Virginia Coal Association

Elias Coop-Gonzalez
Member
West Virginia House of Delegates

Kathleen M. Sgamma President
Western Energy Alliance

Kyle Koenen
Policy Director
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty

Carol Platt Liebau President
Yankee Institute

Nate Dunning
Chairman
Young Conservatives of Texas

Benjamin Zycher
Senior Fellow
American Enterprise Institute (For identification purposes only)

Sam Rohrer
President
American Pastors Network
(For identification purposes only)

E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D.
President
Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation (For identification purposes only)