Capito, Colleagues Call on SEC to Withdraw Proposed Climate Disclosure Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and a group of their Republican colleagues in calling on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler to withdraw the agency’s proposed climate disclosure rule, which would require publicly-traded companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and other information related to climate change. The letter expresses the senators’ strong opposition to the proposed rule and raises concerns about the limited public comment period.

“After failed attempts to enact radical climate policy via legislation, this rule is yet another example of the Biden Administration’s efforts to have unelected bureaucrats implement its preferred agenda through regulation,” the senators wrote. “Addressing climate issues is a complex task with widespread consequences across the U.S. economy. We believe devising climate policy is the job of elected lawmakers, not unelected regulators at the SEC.”

The letter outlines the SEC’s lack of regulatory authority to issue a climate change rule, which would impose significant compliance burdens on public companies, and would further push capital away from domestic fossil fuel producers at a time when energy prices for Americans are skyrocketing. 

“The proposed rule comes against a backdrop of high inflation, skyrocketing energy prices, and immense efforts to cut off Russian energy supplies. Whether it is putting forth radical nominees to important financial regulatory positions or proposing burdensome regulations like the proposed rule on climate-related disclosure, this administration’s hostility towards fossil fuels is having serious consequences throughout the entire economic value chain and on our domestic energy resources and national security,” the senators continued.

Senators Capito and Cramer are joined by U.S. Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D).

Click here to read the letter.
 

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