Rep. French Hill (AR-02) led a letter, co-signed by 22 Republican members of Congress on the Financial Services Committee, to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler outlining their views with the SEC’s plans to mandate disclosures for public companies regarding climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
Rep. Hill and Republican committee members wrote, “We are concerned that in the context of climate change disclosures, the SEC is currently on a course that will take it far afield of its statutory mission to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. … The nature and scope of climate change disclosure rightfully depends upon a particular company’s business line and their carbon footprint…One-size-fits-all, uniform mandates would be deeply misguided for an issue as complex as climate change.”
The members continued by reminding the Commission of the importance of the materiality standard for corporate disclosure, the Commission’s obligations under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), and the importance of the SEC’s reputation as an expert regulator that operates independently of political agendas, which is expounded on in more detail in the letter.
The members concluded, “We urge you and your fellow commissioners to ensure that any further action the SEC takes regarding climate-related disclosure is clearly tied to its core competencies… [which] ultimately will ensure that the Commission’s rulemakings are in the long-term interest of Main Street investors.”
Original source can be found here.
