President Joe Biden vetoed the first bill of his presidency on Monday, halting a Republican-led effort to overturn a federal rule allowing retirement plan advisers to take environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors into account.
“I just signed this veto because the legislation passed by the Congress would put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country. They couldn’t take into consideration investments that would be impacted by climate, impacted by overpaying executives. And that’s why I decided to veto it. It makes sense to veto it,” Biden said in a video.
I just vetoed my first bill.
This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don’t like.
Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not. pic.twitter.com/PxuoJBdEee
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 20, 2023
“This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don’t like. Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not,” Biden added in his tweet.
Two Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, broke with their party to support the Republican House effort to overturn the ESG rule. Both senators are up for re-election in 2024 and come from fossil fuel states. (RELATED: ‘Could Kill Our Economy’: Dem Senator Sounds The Alarm On Biden Admin Climate Rules)
Prior to the Biden administration’s Nov. 2022 rule, plan managers could only consider fiduciary factors.
The House has scheduled a vote to attempt to override the veto on Thursday, Axios reported.
“The President vetoed the bill because it jeopardizes the hard-earned life savings of cops, firefighters, teachers, and other workers – all in service of an extreme, MAGA Republican ideology,” White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a statement, according to the outlet.
