Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) blasted the Biden administration in a fiery floor speech in the Senate on Wednesday.
Manchin, who has routinely sided with Republicans in thwarting President Joe Biden’s agenda, slammed a proposed rule that would allow retirement plan managers to consider environmental and social issues when making investment decisions. The West Virginia senator said the rule is prioritizing a “liberal policy agenda” rather than focusing on increasing people’s wealth.
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“The ESG rule that we are gonna vote on later today is just another example of how our administration prioritizes a liberal policy agenda over protecting and growing the retirement accounts of 150 million Americans that will be in jeopardy,” Manchin said. “Our country is already facing economic uncertainty: record inflation and increasing energy costs that keep Americans up at night and put a squeeze on their pocketbooks.”
WATCH: Today I spoke from the Senate floor on my bipartisan measure to challenge the Biden Administration’s ESG rule which prioritizes politics over getting the best returns for millions of Americans’ retirement investments. pic.twitter.com/zESH223nI0
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) March 1, 2023
The November 2022 Department of Labor rule in question allows asset managers to consider factors besides getting the highest rate of return on investments managing retirement funds, opening the door for companies to prioritize personal political preferences over earning money for their clients.
Opponents of the rule have said that the plan penalizes fossil fuel companies and allows for ideologically fueled investments, leaving people unaware of what they have investments in.
The West Virginia Democrat pointed to countries that prioritize “environmental, social and corporate governance” having difficulty securing energy, including the United Kingdom, which has “thrown all environmental concerns out of the window to survive, they’ll burn anything they can get their hands on to keep from freezing, to try and keep their economy going.”
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Manchin also criticized the Biden administration for “investing and twisting” the Inflation Reduction Act to “cherry-pick” what they wish to advance while hurting energy security, saying energy security is important to remain a superpower on the global stage.
The bill to kill Biden’s rule, which has support from every Republican and some centrist Democrats such as Manchin and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), looks likely to pass, but the White House has said it would veto the bill. The House recently passed a bill that would strip the rule, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting in favor.
