Public Private Strategies Statement on Anniversary of Affordable Care Act Passage

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, President Biden reaffirmed his support for a new Department of Labor Rule that reinstates retirement plan fiduciaries’ ability to consider environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors when evaluating and choosing investments.

A Congressional Resolution sought to overturn the new ESG rule. President Biden vetoed that resolution. 

Following President Biden’s veto, Rhett Buttle, Founder and Principal of Public Private Strategies, released the following statement: 

“Business leaders support President Biden’s veto of this anti-ESG resolution. The business community needs to be able to consider all relevant factors that affect business performance – which could include the economic risk of climate change and other issues considered under the umbrella of ESG – in their investment decisions. 

“The resolution seeks to reimpose ideological restrictions on what factors fiduciaries can consider when making investment decisions. Business leaders know that in order for our free market system to flourish, businesses need to be able to make financial decisions that are best for their investors without ideological interference from the government. 

“That’s why the ESG rule that President Biden protected with this veto doesn’t compel any fiduciary to consider ESG, it simply ensures that they are allowed to do so."

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