House Republicans urge Biden admin to rescind climate rule

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House Republicans urge Biden admin to rescind climate rule

A group of 22 House Financial Services Committee Republicans wrote a letter to the Biden administration Friday, urging it to rescind a potentially unconstitutional environmental rule targeting Wall Street.

The proposal, which was unveiled earlier this year by the Commission, was unconstitutional, according to GOP lawmakers, led by Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn. In March, the SEC voted along party lines to impose a rule that requires private corporations to disclose emissions data and other climate information.

President Biden's desire to transform the entire economy through an unelected commission is unwise and even dangerous, according to a statement shared with FOX Business by Chair Gensler and President Gensler. The SEC should immediately reverse course on this ill-advised proposal to save taxpayer dollars on fighting this in court. If they choose not to, they will be in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution and prove that they have no desire to govern within the parameters of the laws of our country, he continued.

Rose and the other House Financial Services Committee Republicans cited the high court ruling in June in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency limiting federal agencies' power to issue regulations or rules that are not specifically authorized by Congress. The majority of the court stated that Congress intends to make major policy decisions, not leave such actions to the federal government, the Republicans wrote.

The Republicans asked Gensler to explain what authority is granted to such climate policy rulemaking if the SEC decides not to rescind the proposal and move forward with it instead. They asked for a response by Aug. 19.

In addition to emissions data, the rule would require companies to disclose net-zero plans and the climate-related risks facing their business. Gensler said in March that the rule would benefit investors by providing them with information that could affect a company's financial performance.

The Republicans largely oppose the effort. In April, Senate Republicans including Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey, R-Pa. wrote a letter of their own opposing the proposal.

The proposal will undermine the existing regulatory framework that has undergirded consistent, comparable, and reliable company disclosures, said SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, the agency's lone Republican, during a March 21 hearing. We can't make such fundamental changes to our disclosure regime without harm to investors, the economy, and this agency. The SEC didn't respond immediately to a request for comment.