ASA Welcomes CRA Rollback of DOL ESG Rule

Applauds U.S. House and Rep. Andy Barr’s Leadership

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the American Securities Association (ASA) applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for passing Representative Andy Barr’s (R-KY) Congressional Review Act (CRA) measure to end the Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule that created an exemption to the fiduciary standard to allow pension plans to invest in costly environmental, social, and governance (ESG) holdings.

“Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciaries must never subordinate the financial interests of American workers to anyone’s politics, and we applaud Congressman Andy Barr and the House for leading the charge in Congress on this issue,” ASA CEO Chris Iacovella said.

ASA has been actively involved with Congress, regulatory agencies, and market participants regarding the debate over ESG investing and the role that regulators should play to address the growth of ESG products. In 2021, ASA sent a letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) outlining its concerns with the Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights and released an ESG Disclosure Resource Index to help inform the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it considers whether to mandate climate and environmental, social, and governance disclosures for public companies.

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