By: U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-MI-4
Chairman, House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
This article was first published in NCBA’s National Cattlemen.
Why should the American farmer or rancher care about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)? In March of 2022, the SEC introduced a far-reaching proposal that will not only impact these industries, but much of main street. Under President Biden’s administration, the SEC has launched a series of experimental regulations that will upend the agency’s mission and the livelihoods of millions of workers, small business owners, farmers, and ranchers.
The SEC’s climate disclosure rule would force publicly traded companies to disclose certain expansive climate-related information, ranging from greenhouse gas emissions data to anticipated climate risks. While Gensler claims that this rule is only aimed at large publicly traded companies, the proposal also includes a requirement to disclose “scope 3” or supply chain emissions. For the hundreds of thousands of cattle producers whose beef is processed by a publicly traded meatpacker or sold in a publicly traded restaurant or retailer, this rule would have a huge impact.
In April, I had the opportunity to question Chair Gensler during a Congressional hearing and urge him to reconsider his assault on our business environment. My colleagues and I pressed the chair for failing to respond to Congress’ requests to better understand the economic analysis of the rule. Rather than turning over the documents we requested, Chair Gensler had the audacity to send us copies of his publicly available congressional testimony, a public calendar, press releases, and even a copy of a letter that I sent to him months earlier. That’s hardly responsive to our oversight requests. Chair Gensler even admitted that the SEC “is not a climate regulator,” so why is the agency pushing these climate disclosure rules?
The answer is simple: Gensler—a former Goldman Sachs partner—believes that everyday Americans are not capable of choosing how to invest their own money and that the government needs to act on their behalf.
I’ve met with farmers and ranchers from across Michigan and the country, and I know your business acumen certainly makes you smart enough to pick your own investments. These conversations have helped mold my perspective as I continue to hold the agency accountable. Agriculture is an incredibly challenging business. The SEC has no legal standing in this space, which is why I’m fighting to make sure that small business owners like you can make a living without meddlesome bureaucrats.
Americans across the country are waking up to the Biden administration’s attacks on their financial wellbeing. House Republicans will continue defending our great farmers and ranchers from the President Biden and Gary Gensler agenda, because we know that feeding our country is too important to leave to D.C. bureaucrats.
Rep. Bill Huizenga represents Michigan’s 4th Congressional District and is Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for the House Committee on Financial Services. Learn more at Huizenga.house.gov.
