Marathon City Manager Chuck Lindsey and DeSantis. On April 16, 2019, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited U.S. Coast Guard Station Marathon to meet with Monroe County and municipality officials. He discussed Hurricane Irma recovery, water quality, and coral restoration. Also in attendance were Lieut. Gov. Jeannette Nunez, Department of Economic Opportunity Director Ken Lawson, Secretary Noah Valenstein of Environmental Protection, and Florida Department of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz. “We have a good plan to achieve a lot on behalf of the folks in the Florida Keys,” DeSantis said. Photos by Kristen Livengood
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, is expected to announce an alliance with 18 states. The goal of the group is a push back against President Joe Biden’s environmental, social, and corporate governance agenda (ESG).
According to the press release previewed by the Washington Examiner, each of the states is expected to commit to initiating “state-level efforts to protect individuals from the ESG movement” and contemplating measures such as stripping state pension funds and investments from companies that follow the environmental, social, and governance model.
Florida will form the anti-ESG alliance with Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming, according to DeSantis’s office.
According to DeSantis’s press release:
“Proliferation of ESG throughout America is a direct threat to the American economy, individual economic freedom, and our way of life, putting investment decisions in the hands of the woke mob to bypass the ballot box and inject political ideology into investment decisions, corporate governance, and the everyday economy.”
ESG policies require companies to seek environmental sustainability and heightened diversity. Conservatives have railed against ESG, decrying it as a distraction from focus on business endeavors.
A Republican-backed bill looking to roll back a Labor Department rule which enables retirement plans to weigh ESG factors in investment decisions has cleared both chambers of Congress. President Biden is expected to veto the measure. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) backed the move, reports the Washington Examiner.
DeSantis announced a proposal in February to safeguard Florida residents from ESG by restricting institutions from “discriminating against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs,” among other measures.
From Ron DeSantis:
I said we would spearhead an initiative to join with other like-minded states to send an even louder message to the financial industry that the American people have rejected ESG at the ballot box. We will not stand idly by as the stability of our country’s economy is threatened by woke executives who put their political agenda ahead of their clients’ finances.
The ESG agenda often prioritizes diversity bean-counting, as well as “environmental sustainability,” over economic merit and business sustainability.
The Examiner also noted, “Recently, a Republican-backed bill to roll back a Labor Department rule enabling retirement plans to weigh ESG factors in investment decisions cleared both chambers of Congress. The president is expected to veto the measure.”
According to Joe Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre:
“It forces MAGA Republicans’ ideology down the throats of the private sector and handcuffing investors as well. The bill would bar fiduciaries from considering significant risks like extreme climate threats and poor corporate governance when they make investment decisions.”
The recent collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank is due to several factors. It’s worth noting, however, that many have pointed to SVB’s steadfast commitment to an ESG agenda, reports the BRIGHT editors.
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