President Biden has vetoed a bipartisan resolution that prevented his administration from taking environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues into account when making investment decisions.
"I just signed this veto because legislation passed by the Congress would put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country," the president claimed. "They couldn't take into consideration the investments that would be impacted by climate, impacted by overpaying executives, and that's why I decided to veto."
Though she knows it would be an uphill battle, Heritage Action Press Secretary Carson Steelman would like to see Congress vote to override the president's veto.
"It really is an insult to the American people," she submits. "President Biden used his first presidential veto to overrule the bipartisan [Congressional Review Act] that would have protected the retirement accounts and 401(k)s of more than 150 million Americans by blocking the Department of Labor's dangerous ESG rule. Prioritizing a left-leaning political agenda, the rule basically allows the federal government to use taxpayer money to work against American taxpayer values and financial interests."
Even though Senators Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) sided with Republicans on the issue, Biden has referred to it as something that was influenced by "MAGA Republicans."
"The president is trying to ignore the fact that this was a bipartisan effort to block a rule put forth by his administration," Steelman tells AFN.
Meanwhile, what she believes the American people really want is a Congress and representatives who are going to work on a policy agenda that will protect their livelihoods and financial interests. So Steelman says for Biden to dismiss this as some ultra-conservative move is "completely inaccurate, and it's very tone-deaf to what the American people want to see out of Washington and out of the White House."
