WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced legislation into the 118th Congress that would protect taxpayer funds from being invested in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives.
The so-called No ESG at TSP Act would bar managers of the federal Thrift Saving Plan from investing funds being withheld from federal employees and service members paychecks and respective agency matches from being invested in funds that support damaging woke ideology.
“This vital piece of legislation fights back against the destructive influence of ESG investing,” Lee explains. “This investing scheme – championed by woke corporations and facilitated by the Biden administration – aims to undermine reliable energy American energy and advance radical ideologies.”
Those ideologies include the Biden administration’s self-destructive political agenda, according to Lee.
Lee’s bill is being co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
In the House of Representatives, Rep Chip Roy (R-TX) has introduced a companion bill that addresses Republicans’ growing concerns surrounding ESG initiatives, which they say pose risks to our domestic energy supply and promote divisive ideologies.
Roy says that ESG investing is a scheme that woke corporations are using to appease the Left.
“Last year,” he adds, “the federal Thrift Saving Plan began allowing federal employees to invest their taxpayer-funded salaries into ESG Plans.
“The U.S. government has no business propping up woke scams like ESG. Congress should eradicate every federal policy and office that promotes them.”
ESG investing policies began to be a political issue during the 2022 election cycle.
Many liberals consider them a sustainable investment trend and applauded as they swept through the financial world.
But officials from red states – like Lee, Scott and Roy – consider such policies a back-door ideological threat and are trying to stop state and federal investment managers from falling in line.
The ESG concept calls on investors to consider factors like a company’s environmental sensitivity, support for gender equity or LGBTQ+ enlightenment prior to investing. By denying investment capital to firms that don’t meet those criteria, Leftists hope to force Corporate America to adopt woke ideologies.
Aided by woke analysis from financial rating agencies, proponents of ESG policies are thought to control as much as $16.6 trillion in American investment capital.
Recently, however, major corporations like the Target retail organization and Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company have reported record losses following a consumer backlash to their recently adopted woke advertising campaigns.
Lee’s staff here in Washington report that the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) manages approximately $817 billion in total assets, making it the largest defined contribution plan globally.
The majority of TSP contributions come from withholdings from federal employees or service members paychecks and their respective agency matches.
Lee contends that allowing billions of taxpayer dollars and agency matches to be used for ESG investments inadvertently endorses woke ideologies.
The No ESG at TSP Act directs TSP managers to develop a process to identify and remove funds violating the act’s provisions.
Participants who have invested in prohibited funds at the time of the bill’s enactment will have the opportunity to reinvest their assets. If a participant fails to reinvest, TSP will reallocate the assets to a core fund.
The No ESG at TSP Act also empowers participants or beneficiaries to bring a civil suit against TSP managers if they violate the act, ensuring accountability and the protection of taxpayer funds.
“Congress must take a stand and eliminate federal policies that promote this detrimental agenda,” Lee says. “Together, we can protect our energy sector, reject divisive ideologies and ensure the financial well-being of hardworking Americans.”