President Joe Biden on Tuesday strongly criticized, but did not threaten to veto, three House Republican bills that seek to curb "woke policies" in the federal government.
Biden said he opposes the End Woke Higher Education Act, the Protecting Americans’ Investments from Woke Policies Act, and the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, the Washington Examiner reported.
The End Woke Higher Education Act, formerly titled the Accreditation for College Excellence Act and sponsored by Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, would prohibit recognized accrediting agencies and associations from requiring institutions of higher education to meet a political litmus test or violate any right protected by the Constitution as a condition of accreditation.
Biden warned the bill would “micromanage both public and private institutions, undermining their ability to recognize and promote diversity.”
“Because of Republican-backed efforts to limit the ability of colleges and universities to admit a diverse student body, many college classes look less like America this year than in prior years,” Biden said, according to the Examiner. “This legislation would further undermine efforts to make colleges welcoming to all students.”
The Protecting Americans’ Investments from Woke Policies Act, or the RETIRE Act, sponsored by Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., is in response to a rule the Biden administration has pushed that allows, but does not require, fiduciaries to weigh environmental, social, and governance factors when making investment decisions for retirement accounts.
The bill forces financial institutions to focus on maximizing returns in retirement plans instead of ESG factors by ensuring they base investment decisions solely on economic factors and complete information is provided to retirement investors.
“Artificially limiting fiduciaries’ ability to consider material information in making sound investments will reduce savings and retirement security for Americans,” Biden said, according to the Examiner.
The Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, or the GUARDRAIL Act, sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., seeks to limit federal regulators from inserting ESG factors into the financial system through rulemaking and prevents the Securities and Exchange Commission from forcing a publicly traded company to include a shareholder proposal or even discussing a proposal in a proxy statement.
Biden said the bill would “severely limit the ability of federal financial regulators to protect consumers and investors” and would block some federal agencies from “working to influence standards” that improve the financial system, according to the Examiner.
All three bills could see floor votes this week. Biden likely did not include a veto threat because chances are low the bills would see the light of day in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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