Anti-ESG 401(k) Bill to Amend ERISA Introduced by Republicans

House Republicans have renewed their attack on “woke” retirement investing with the introduction of new legislation that would explicitly ban ESG considerations in the primary federal law governing workplace retirement plans.

The Ensuring Sound Guidance (ESG) Act, introduced Wednesday by House Financial Services Committee member Andy Barr (R-Ky.), would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-406) to mandate that retirement account managers consider only financial factors when investing and explicitly rule out environmental, social, and corporate governance.

ESG investing in employer-sponsored pensions has been a target of GOP lawmakers since President ...