[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 40 (Thursday, March 2, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S629-S630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Congressional Review Act

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I am here to speak about the 
Congressional Review Act that the Senate and House passed this week on 
a bipartisan basis and particularly about the President's decision to 
veto that Congressional Review Act.
  Now, protecting Americans' property is what government should do--
period; end of story. The American people deserve to know that the 
property that they invest in for their retirement is going to go to its 
highest, best use; that the person managing that money is going to make 
sure they maximize the return so that the couple, the family, the 
individual investing in that retirement is making the wisest decisions 
for their future.
  Instead, President Biden's new environmental and social governance 
rule authorizes those who manage that money to prioritize President 
Biden's political agenda over the long-term financial health of the 
retirement fund of that fellow American. Think about that. It isn't 
what is best for their retirement, in their golden years when they are 
65, 70, when they have to retire. It is what President Biden wishes to 
do now as a political agenda. He is willing to jeopardize the 
retirement of the 152 million Americans who are planning for their 
future to fulfill his political goal.
  Now, it is easy to speak about 152 million people. Let's bring it 
down to the young couple. They are 28 years old. They just had their 
first child. They are feeling responsible. They are feeling like they 
need to put money aside so that--my gosh, it seems so far away--when 
they retire, they have taken care of their financial future.
  And they read the literature. If the return on my investment is 1 
percent more, I have a much better life. If it is 0.5 or 1 percent 
less, I have not as good of a life because that is the power of 
compounding. Over that long period of time, that little bit of extra 
which continues to compound makes the difference sometimes between 
having to continue to work and the ability to buy the RV, take off 
west, and to see the Grand Canyon. That is kind of putting a human face 
upon this. Congress knew that.
  When the President said that he was going to endorse this rule--
promulgated it, if you will, put it out there--that told the asset 
managers, ``Don't prioritize the best return on the investment; 
prioritize what we tell you is the better way to invest the dollars for 
our political goals,'' Congress voted on a bipartisan basis to end this 
ESG rule and to stand up for that American worker and that American 
family who are diligently saving and depend upon the best rate of 
return to securely retire.
  Now, instead of joining Congress and supporting the workers, 
protecting their retirement, the President announced he will veto the 
effort. Oh, he doesn't say that he is going to do it to hurt their 
long-term retirement plans, but that is absolutely what it does. It 
puts window dressing around it: He is saving the planet. You name this; 
you name that. He is hurting their retirement plan, and he knows it, 
but that is of secondary importance to him.
  Now, by the way, for Louisiana energy workers, this is more than a 
betrayal of their retirement. It weaponizes their retirement accounts 
not just against their future but also against their present. Those 
energy workers who are helping to produce the natural gas and the oil 
that is fueling our modern economy, that is helping to send natural gas 
overseas to Europe so that they can better withstand the financial and 
the energy pressure exerted by Russia over their economies, they are 
going to be hurt because this ESG rule will tell these financial 
institutions not to put as much capital into the development of this 
essential oil and natural gas for both our economy, for our European 
allies, and, by the way, for natural gas, in terms of helping to 
decrease global carbon emissions, and--did I say it--for the retirement 
accounts of these workers.
  It is another effort by Washington, DC, Democrats to dismantle 
America's

[[Page S630]]

energy economy, which has the byproduct--the very unfortunate 
byproduct, I suppose--of killing the jobs of millions of Americans.
  Those investment managers helping to plan the retirement of these 
workers should help these workers achieve their best retirement plans. 
That is not necessarily the goal of the Biden administration. It is not 
necessarily the goal of academia or the environmental activists. But it 
is the savers' money; it is not Joe Biden's.
  There is still time for the President to rethink his veto threat. The 
President says he is for supporting workers. Then show it. He says he 
is for those who do less well in our economy. Then show it. This ESG 
policy will make things worse for them. Don't veto. Allow it to go 
through.
  Supporting American workers means supporting their jobs now and 
supporting their retirement savings. I urge him to sign this bill.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.