WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, commends the Trump administration’s proposal to replace Biden’s reckless environment, social, and government (ESG) rule allowing fiduciaries to prioritize left-wing ideology when making investment decisions with Americans’ retirement savings.
“[The] important fiduciary duty of loyalty enables millions of hardworking Americans to confidently prepare for retirement, knowing that their savings are invested for their benefit only,” wrote Dr. Cassidy. “Workers should not have to worry about the safety of their hard-earned savings because their fiduciary chose politics over prudence."
Under the Biden administration, Cassidy sounded the alarm over Democrats' radical ESG agenda. Last Congress, Cassidy introduced the Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act, preventing asset managers from prioritizing ESG factors over the financial success of Americans’ retirement savings. Additionally, Cassidy joined a bipartisan coalition to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution in an effort to overturn Biden’s ESG rule. Biden later vetoed the bipartisan resolution.
As Chairman of the HELP Committee, Cassidy is committed to working with President Trump to protect Americans’ retirement savings from political ideology.
Read the full letter here or below.
Secretary Chavez-DeRemer,
As Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, I write in support of the Department of Labor’s decision to replace its final rule titled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.”
When Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), it entrusted fiduciaries with the responsibility to assist workers in saving for retirement. In doing so, it is crucial that fiduciaries act only with a worker’s best interest in mind. This important fiduciary duty of loyalty enables millions of hardworking Americans to confidently prepare for retirement, knowing that their savings are invested for their benefit only.
Unfortunately, some fiduciaries have failed to uphold this duty and misused workers’ savings in order to invest in activist causes. Under the guise of environment, social, and governance (ESG) considerations, fiduciaries choose investments or exercise shareholder rights based on subjective, unprovable factors to further an ideological agenda.
President Trump’s proposed rule signals a return to sensibility. When managing a worker’s investment options or exercising his or her shareholder rights, a fiduciary should only consider the material, pecuniary factors that directly increase workers’ savings. The Biden administration’s ESG rule broke sharply from this practice, enabling fiduciaries to run wild with workers’ savings and putting the retirement security of millions of Americans at risk. Last Congress, I joined with my colleagues to overturn this rule through a Congressional Review Act resolution, which President Biden vetoed despite the resolution’s support from a bipartisan majority in both chambers. By replacing this harmful policy, the Department of Labor will once again ensure that fiduciaries uphold their responsibilities to workers.
To that end, I also introduced the Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act last Congress, which would reinforce the important fiduciary duties codified by Congress in ERISA. Alongside the Department of Labor’s final rule, this legislation would clearly outline that fiduciaries must only consider economic factors related to an investment’s performance when managing a worker’s savings.
I look forward to continuing to work with President Trump and the Department of Labor in implementing pro-worker policies. When preparing for retirement, workers should not have to worry about the safety of their hard-earned savings because their fiduciary chose politics over prudence.
Sincerely,
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