McKinley Leads Letter Raising Questions About Federal Reserve Nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin’s Advocacy Against American Energy Independence
Washington, D.C. – Congressman David B. McKinley (WV-01), chair of the Coal Caucus, joined a letter with Representative Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) and 46 of their colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, expressing serious concern regarding President Joe Biden’s nomination of Ms. Sarah Bloom Raskin to serve as Vice Chair for Supervision at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Fed). The letter details how her nomination is indicative of the Biden Administration’s continued war on U.S. energy producers.
“The Biden Administration has its head in the sand, at a time when inflation and energy costs are sky high, hurting American families, their nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin reaffirms they are committed to pursuing their disastrous anti-fossil fuel agenda,” said Rep. McKinley.
“Ms. Raskin has a clear history of putting personal beliefs ahead of unbiased guidance and would steer the Fed outside of its statutory mission. Her nomination risks the Federal Reserve’s impartiality in protecting America’s economic interests. Turning the Federal Reserve into a far-left climate policy advocate is wrong for America and proves this administration would rather appease their base than do what is best for America’s energy and economic future,” said Rep. McKinley.
Background:
Last month, 41 trade associations, which account for seventy percent of the nation’s energy production, sent a letter opposing Ms. Bloom Raskin’s nomination. Further, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s Republican staff recently released a report detailing Ms. Bloom Raskin’s troubling statements advocating for the Fed to use its statutory mandates to de-bank American energy producers.
"Raskin has previously argued that all financial institutions should re-evaluate their relationships with energy companies and has advocated for a push toward sustainable investments that do not depend on carbon and fossil fuels. If banks and other financial institutions do not take these steps to distance themselves from fossil-fuel companies, Raskin has said, the Fed should penalize them," said Megan Henney, Fox Business.
Read Article: House Republicans lambast Biden over Fed nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin: A 'far-left radical'
The full text of the letter can be read here and below:
Dear President Biden:
We write to express our concerns with your anti-American energy agenda, including your nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to serve as Vice Chair for Supervision at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Your energy policies have already led to record-breaking prices at the pump, higher home-heating costs, and devastating inflation. The last thing American families need is a Green New Deal at the Federal Reserve.
One of our country’s greatest strategic advantages is our stock of natural resources. Unlike other nations, the U.S. is positioned for energy independence because of our massive reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas. These abundant supplies keep energy costs low for residential, commercial, and industrial consumers of electricity, heating, and transportation fuels. They also allow us to assist our allies and strategic partners against foreign aggression like the kind we are currently witnessing with Russia.
Importantly, millions of Americans earn a living from our domestic energy industry. Their livelihoods depend on their employers’ ability to access credit for development, expansion, and routine business operations like meeting payroll.
That’s why we are deeply troubled by your decision to nominate Ms. Raskin, who would wield tremendous regulatory and supervisory authority that could be weaponized to discourage or prohibit banks from lending to or investing in American energy. Her consistent advocacy for the Federal Reserve to de-bank energy companies raises the troubling prospect that she would do just that. After describing the energy sector as a “dying industry,” she argued—at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—that the Federal Reserve should have excluded energy companies from its emergency lending facilities.
Ms. Raskin has also urged financial regulators to adopt “policies that will allocate capital and align portfolios toward sustainable investments that do not depend on carbon and fossil fuels.” She endorsed particular regulatory measures, which are not enumerated in statute, to achieve these objectives. These include “climate stress testing” and “portfolio limitations or concentration limits” for assets deemed to be “high-emission.” Such actions would irreparably politicize the Federal Reserve and destroy what remains of its credibility and independence.
It is ironic that at a time when your administration is working to send American natural gas to our allies in Europe, you are also promoting an individual who supports cutting off the very same suppliers’ access to the banking system. We urge you to consider American workers and families, as well as our allies abroad, and end your war on our nation’s energy producers.
Original source can be found here.
