Biden Drops The Veto Hammer On Marjorie Taylor Greene

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 02:03 pm

President Biden vetoed a bill that would have jeopardized the retirement savings of millions of Americans that was supported by Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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The White House tweeted Biden explaining his first veto:

Biden said in his veto message to the House:

  I am returning herewith without my approval H.J. Res. 30, a resolution that would disapprove of the Department of Labor’s final rule titled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.”

     The Department of Labor’s final rule protects the hard‑earned life savings and pensions of tens of millions of workers and retirees across the country.  It allows retirement plan fiduciaries to make fully informed investment decisions by considering all relevant factors that might impact a prospective investment, while ensuring that investment decisions made by retirement plan fiduciaries maximize financial returns for retirees.

     There is extensive evidence showing that environmental, social, and governance factors can have a material impact on markets, industries, and businesses.  But the Republican-led resolution would force retirement managers to ignore these relevant risk factors, disregarding the principles of free markets and jeopardizing the life savings of working families and retirees.  In fact, this resolution would prevent retirement plan fiduciaries from taking into account factors, such as the physical risks of climate change and poor corporate governance, that could affect investment returns. 

     Retirement plan fiduciaries should be able to consider any factor that maximizes financial returns for retirees across the country.  That is not controversial — that is common sense.

Rep. Greene (R-GA) offered a very weak reply:

Biden’s veto came on the same day that the UN climate change report found that the world is on the brink of catastrophic warming.

President Biden was correct. It is common sense that financial planners should be able to take into consideration climate change and environmental concerns when making investment decisions.

Biden’s veto will save retirement accounts that Republicans like Greene wanted to destroy to score political points against ‘wokeism,’ whatever that is. Biden called out Greene by name in his tweet, as his veto serves as a reminder that only Biden and the Democrats are thinking about the best interests of the American people.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association