{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://murphy.house.gov/media/press-releases/murphy-introduces-esg-legislation-protect-american-retirement-savings", "Murphy Introduces ESG Legislation to Protect American Retirement Savings", "2022-10-19", "2022", "2022-10", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Gregory F. Murphy", "M001210", "murphy.house.gov", "murphy", "https://murphy.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) introduced the Safeguarding Investment Options for Retirement Act alongside Reps. Carol Miller (WV-03), David Schweikert (AZ-06), and Lloyd Smucker (PA-11). The legislation aims to protect investors from having politically motivated \u2018woke\u2019 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues put ahead of hardworking Americans\u2019 investment returns.\n\n\u201cThe Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is supposed to protect retirement investment plans by requiring plan managers to be subject to fiduciary responsibilities,\u201d said Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. \u201cHowever, the Biden administration\u2019s proposed changes to ERISA abandon fiduciary responsibility by allowing \u2018woke\u2019 ESG factors to dictate investment returns \u2013 putting Americans\u2019 retirement savings at risk. Our commonsense legislation would impose strict enforcement measures to ensure that \u2018woke\u2019 Biden policies do not hinder Americans\u2019 retirement savings. I am grateful to Republican Attorney Generals across the nation who are fighting back against the Biden administration\u2019s radical policies and leading the charge against ESG at the state level.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe need to do everything we can to not let this radical woke agenda derail the fiduciary obligations of plans to protect the hard-earned retirement savings of Americans,\u201d said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. \u201cThis bill would put in critical guard rails to prevent far left schemes from robbing people of the full returns on their investments that they deserve. As Attorney General of West Virginia, I am standing firm with my colleagues to fight back against the Biden administration\u2019s ESG policies that are waging an all-out war against traditional American energy and values.\u201d\n\n\u201cWashington liberals have weaponized the economy to attack our energy producers and force their woke ESG agenda on hardworking Americans,\u201d said Rep. Carol Miller. \u201cDr. Murphy\u2019s bill is an important safeguard against the Biden Administration\u2019s attempts to dictate investment returns based on unfounded ESG factors. At the state and federal levels, we must push back against these radical policies, protect Americans\u2019 retirement savings, and empower our energy industry.\u201d\n\n\"Protecting our retirees stems from a fiduciary duty, not a political agenda,\u201d said Rep. David Schweikert. \u201cIt is imperative the Biden administration does not go forward with its proposals to jeopardize the savings of our retirees by changing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Our seniors are suffering enough under this administration, this ESG agenda would push hard-working Americans further into misery and wipe out even more of their savings.\"\n\nBackground:\n\nOn October 14, 2021, the Department of Labor proposed changes to ERISA regulations that \u201cmay often require\u201d environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans governed by ERISA. Recent data shows that large-cap funds with higher ESG ratings have seen a worse overall performance compared to those with lower ESG ratings. In fact, funds with a higher rating saw a loss of 13 percent on average last year. Rep. Murphy\u2019s Safeguarding Retirement Investment Options Act mandates a fiduciary of a plan to act solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the plan. This legislation builds upon similar legislation introduced by Reps. Andy Barr (KY-06) and Rick Allen (GA-12) earlier this year.\n\nSupport: America First Policy Institute, American Energy Alliance, ALEC Action, American Securities Association, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:34:28Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://murphy.house.gov/media/press-releases/murphy-introduces-esg-legislation-protect-american-retirement-savings"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9196449536830187, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}