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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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U.S. President Joe Biden called out Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday after announcing his first veto since taking office.
"I just vetoed my first bill," Biden wrote in a tweet. "This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don't like. Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings—whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not."
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The tweet by Biden comes shortly after he vetoed legislation that was previously passed by the Senate in a 50-46 vote. The legislation sought to block a rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor that allowed retirement plans to look at "environmental, social, and corporate governance factors" (ESG) before making investments.
Republicans argued that it is wrong to make it easier for pension funds to consider "woke" ESG criteria, including climate change, in investment decisions they say should be solely focused on maximizing returns.
They were joined by the Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Jon Tester, both of whom come from states where they not only face Republican challenges, but which have big coal mining industries that do not find favor under ESG measures.
Defenders of the measure say pension funds should be free to follow whatever criteria they choose in the long-term interest of pension holders, whether or not that means using ESG criteria.
In a tweet responding to Biden, Representative Greene said, "No one has put our retirement at risk more than you, Joe. American families can't count on checks from China to pay their rent and groceries like your family does."
The White House released the following statement after the veto:
"There is extensive evidence showing that environmental, social, and governance factors can have a material impact on markets, industries, and businesses. But the Republican-led resolution would force retirement managers to ignore these relevant risk factors, disregarding the principles of free markets and jeopardizing the life savings of working families and retirees. In fact, this resolution would prevent retirement plan fiduciaries from taking into account factors, such as the physical risks of climate change and poor corporate governance, that could affect investment returns."
"Retirement plan fiduciaries should be able to consider any factor that maximizes financial returns for retirees across the country. That is not controversial—that is common sense," the statement added.
Last month, the White House issued a statement of administration policy, criticizing the bill, titled H.J. Res. 30. The statement said that the Biden administration "strongly opposes" the legislation and added, "Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has been unapologetic in fighting for America's workers and ensuring our economy works for America's working people."
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Newsweek was directed to Greene's tweet after reaching out to her office for comment via email.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who was one of two Democratic Senators to vote in favor of the H.J. Res. 30 legislation, issued a statement criticizing the veto and saying that it was "absolutely infuriating."
"This Administration continues to prioritize their radical policy agenda over the economic, energy and national security needs of our country, and it is absolutely infuriating. West Virginians are under increasing stress as we continue to recover from a once in a generation pandemic, pay the bills amid record inflation, and face the largest land war in Europe since World War II," Manchin said in a statement, which was obtained by Newsweek.
"This ESG rule will weaken our energy, national and economic security while jeopardizing the hard-earned retirement savings of 150 million West Virginians and Americans. Despite a clear and bipartisan rejection of the rule from Congress, President Biden is choosing to put his Administration's progressive agenda above the well-being of the American people."
Update, 3/21/23, 5 a.m. ET: This article was updated with further background information.
Update, 3/20/23, 3:25 p.m. ET: This article was updated with more information.
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