{"id":1969269,"date":"2023-07-11T00:27:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T04:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trade-group-calls-on-congress-to-rein-in-esg-onslaught\/"},"modified":"2023-07-11T00:29:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T04:29:47","slug":"trade-group-calls-on-congress-to-rein-in-esg-onslaught","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trade-group-calls-on-congress-to-rein-in-esg-onslaught\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade group urges Congress to control ESG influence."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrade-group-calls-on-congress-to-rein-in-esg-onslaught%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1969269&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<h2>A Call to Action: Manufacturers Criticize Regulatory Moves<\/h2>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-creates-working-groups-of-experts-to-strategize-how-to-restart-global-travel\/\" title=\"Biden Administration Creates Working Groups Of \u2018Experts\u2019 To Strategize How To Restart Global Travel\">trade group representing<\/a> some 14,000 small and large manufacturers has issued a scorching criticism of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trade-group-calls-on-congress-to-rein-in-esg-onslaught\/\" title=\"Trade group urges Congress to control ESG influence.\">recent regulatory moves tightening environmental<\/a>, social, and governance (ESG) rules while calling on Congress to fight the Securities and Exchange Commission\u2019s (SEC) \u201cregulatory onslaught.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the House Financial Services Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/financialservices.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=408894\">prepares to conduct<\/a> a series of hearings on ESG and issues relating to the proxy process, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has penned a letter to the committee\u2019s leaders urging them to take action to protect businesses from ESG activists.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC is criticized for giving special privileges to ESG activists, reducing oversight of proxy firms, and proposing rigid ESG mandates that burden manufacturers without benefiting investors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRather than tamp down on the deluge of politically motivated proposals, the SEC has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/andrew-cuomos-family-received-priority-covid-19-testing-as-recently-as-april\/\" title=\"Andrew Cuomo\u2019s Family Received Priority COVID-19 Testing As Recently As April\">granted special access<\/a> to the proxy ballot for ESG activists,\u201d the group wrote in the letter (<a href=\"https:\/\/fm.cnbc.com\/applications\/cnbc.com\/resources\/editorialfiles\/2023\/07\/10\/NAM_Timmons_HFSC_Letter_w_Policy_Agenda.pdf\">pdf<\/a>), which was addressed to\u00a0Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the chairman and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>The manufacturing group wants Congress to intervene and limit proxy advisory firms\u2019 influence, reinforce fiduciary duty, and prevent activist agendas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongress must step in to depoliticize the business decisions that impact the lives and life savings of millions of Americans,\u201d the group wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC has not returned a request for comment.<\/p>\n<h2>Proxy Ballot Controversy<\/h2>\n<p>Proxy ballots let shareholders vote on matters of corporate governance or decision-making when they\u2019re unable to attend a shareholder meeting in person. Typically, someone from the company\u2019s management or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jp-morgan-shareholders-hand-jamie-dimon-a-rare-rebuke-disapprove-52-6-million-bonus\/\" title=\"JP Morgan Shareholders Hand Jamie Dimon a Rare Rebuke, Disapprove .6 Million Bonus\">proxy advisory firm<\/a> is designated as a proxy to cast a vote.<\/p>\n<p>Investors often take proxy firms\u2019 advice on issues like director elections, merger transactions, and ESG matters, giving such entities significant power over whether a ballot item succeeds or fails.<\/p>\n<p>As the ESG movement has gained steam, many corporations have argued that proxy advisory companies have amassed too much power over corporate elections and that they should be regulated more tightly.<\/p>\n<p>Under former President Donald Trump, restrictions were imposed on proxy firms that required them to inform companies about how they\u2019re advising shareholders to vote in corporate elections.<\/p>\n<p>Also, in a bid to bolster transparency, the Trump-era rules let investors see what opinion companies have about the guidance provided by proxy firms.<\/p>\n<p>But in July 2022, the SEC voted 3-2 along party lines to rescind the Trump-era rules, siding with critics that claimed the restrictions impeded the independence of proxy firms.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, the rules adopted by the SEC rescinded two exemptions, including a requirement that proxy advisers provide a first look to corporations of the advice to be placed on the agenda. It also removed a requirement that allowed clients of proxy firms to be notified of any written responses to their guidance from companies.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4026801\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2021\/10\/01\/US-SEC-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n    The seal of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington on May 12, 2021. (Andrew Kelly\/Reuters)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<h2>\u2018Outsized Influence\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Shortly after the SEC decided to gut some of the Trump-era rules, the National Association of Manufacturers said it would sue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cManufacturers depend on federal agencies to provide reliable rules of the road, and the S<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A trade group of 14,000 manufacturers has strongly criticized recent regulatory actions that tighten ESG rules. They urge Congress to oppose the SEC&#8217;s &#8220;regulatory onslaught.&#8221; The House Financial Services Committee is set to hold hearings on ESG, adding to the ongoing debate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":1969270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1969269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1969269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1969269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1969269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1969270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1969269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1969269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1969269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}