Submitted by United States Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana
WASHINGTON (Apr. 18, 2024) – Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in introducing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) for the Biden administration’s Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) climate disclosure rule. The rule would require companies to make public disclosures about certain climate-related risks such as their greenhouse gas emissions and the financial impact of natural disasters like hurricanes, floods and tornadoes.
“At every opportunity, the Biden administration abuses its rulemaking power to force a radical climate agenda down Americans’ throats. The Senate should move quickly to correct the SEC’s misguided regulation, which will cost companies billions of dollars to comply with and will force investors to prioritize politics in their decision making,” said Kennedy.
In March, the SEC finalized its rule titled, The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. If Congress does not block it, the rule will soon require more than 7,000 American companies to make climate disclosures. The move will cost companies across the U.S. economy billions of dollars in compliance efforts.
“The SEC’s final climate disclosure rule threatens economic opportunity across the country, and it must be overturned. Over and over again, SEC Chair Gensler has disregarded the real-world impacts of his aggressive regulatory agenda in his dogged pursuit of left-wing political priorities. This rule is no exception. The SEC’s mission is to regulate our capital markets and ensure all Americans can safely share in their economic success—not to force a partisan climate agenda on American businesses. This rule is federal overreach at its worst, and the SEC should stay in its lane,” said Scott.
Background:
- Under Chairman Gary Gensler, the SEC is implementing an aggressive regulatory agenda and has proposed more than 60 rules that are on track to be finalized.
- In Sept. 2022, Kennedy questioned Gensler about the cost of compliance of the SEC’s climate disclosure rule in the Senate Banking Committee. Gensler admitted that the rule would cost billions of dollars across the economy to implement.
Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) also signed onto the resolution of disapproval.
Full text of the bill is available here.
