WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) joined Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and their Republican colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee in requesting information regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed climate disclosure rule.
The rule would require publicly-traded companies to gather and report global warming data, though almost none of that information is material to a business’s finances.
“This sweeping, close to 500-page proposed rule is unnecessary and inappropriate, exceeds the SEC’s mission and expertise, will harm consumers, workers, and the entire U.S. economy at a time when energy prices are skyrocketing, and hijacks the democratic process in determining U.S. climate policy,” wrote the senators.
“It is neither necessary nor appropriate for the SEC to promulgate securities regulations to address global warming. . . . In other words, to the extent climate change will have a material impact in any of these areas, companies are already legally required to disclose this information,” they explained.
The lawmakers noted that climate activists without a fiduciary duty to a company and its shareholders want this information to support their efforts to force their policy preferences on publicly-traded companies and the nation at large after failing to enact these policy changes through the legislative process. Resulting political pressure campaigns would then harm companies and their shareholders.
“Furthermore, the SEC’s sweeping proposed climate disclosure rule will impose enormous costs on the entire U.S. economy if it goes into effect. Coupled with Biden administration policies that have been hostile to traditional energy, the SEC’s proposed rule will discourage capital investment in oil, natural gas, and other energy industries at a time when inflation is at a 40-year high and energy prices are skyrocketing. It will also force significant job losses within one sector of the economy when it is not the proper role of the SEC to be directing capital allocation,” the senators continued.
The full letter with its specific requests for information is available here.