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ARTICLE · 23 MAY 2023

ESG Under Attack At House Oversight Committee Hearing

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The hearing is partly in response to a March 2023 letter from 21 Republican state attorneys general to various large investment firms.

United StatesEnvironment
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
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On Wednesday, May 10, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held the first of multiple planned hearings on ESG. Wednesday's hearing, "ESG Part I: An Examination of Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices with Attorneys General," was led by House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.). Comer blasted ESG principles in his press release about the hearings, calling ESG "a progressive scheme pushed by radical left-wing groups to pressure large and small businesses to adopt policies that routinely undermine performance."

The hearing is partly in response to a March 2023 letter from 21 Republican state attorneys general to various large investment firms. The letter expressed concerns about the use of ESG principles in asset management and voting decisions at corporate annual meetings. Among other things, the letter claimed asset managers were shirking their fiduciary duties in favor of furthering "political goals" like race and gender equity and net

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