Legislation/Regulation
ATR Supports Rep. Bryan Steil’s Putting Investors First Act
While state financial officers have received a lot of attention when it comes to combatting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, Congressional Republicans are also gearing up to depoliticize investing and proxy voting. Last week, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) reintroduced the Putting Investors First Act (H.R. 448), which would require proxy…
In the News
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer is Laser-Focused on Financial Returns for Retirees
Last week, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis issued a directive requiring asset managers to remove Floridians’ retirement money from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds. Florida’s Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP), which is a supplemental retirement plan for state employees, totals $5.1 billion in assets. A percentage of these assets will…
Legislation/Regulation
Why Pennsylvania’s HB 1671 Fails to Root Out Woke Investing
Bottom Line: Americans for Tax Reform opposes legislation (HB 1671) introduced by Pennsylvania State Representative Brett Miller. The bill ostensibly creates “transparency” by requiring the Public School Employees’ Retirement Board, the State Employees’ Retirement Board, and private equity managers to publicly disclose contractual information. Instead, the bill provides leverage,…
Legislation/Regulation
ATR Continues to Support Fix to Broker Definition for Digital Assets
Americans for Tax Reform continues to support legislative efforts to fix the overly-broad definition of a digital asset broker as passed in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58). As the end of the 2022 approaches, the lame-duck session will be the perfect opportunity to attach a provision…
Legislation/Regulation
ATR Op-Ed in Townhall: “It’s Time to Depoliticize Retirement Fund Investments.”
On September 15, 2022, Townhall published an op-ed by ATR Federal Affairs Manager Bryan Bashur. The op-ed discusses how legislators and attorneys general have been fighting back against the recent trend of investment managers of retirement funds employing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards for their investments in violation of their…
Legislation/Regulation
Pennsylvania Republicans Use Democrats’ Playbook to Regulate Retirement Funds
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is considering unnecessary legislation that mandates the public disclosure of confidential information of private equity firms and their pension fund investors. House Bill 1671, sponsored by Rep. Brett Miller, is a government assault on private equity funds and their investors. The bill has been…
In the News
ATR Op-Ed in The Hill: “‘The Big Three’ must prioritize returns over ESG propaganda”
On June 6th, The Hill published an op-ed by ATR Federal Affairs Manager Bryan Bashur. The piece discusses how the world’s largest asset management firms (BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street) have lost focus on maximizing retirement plan returns and instead prefer to promote environmental, social, and governance propaganda. The…
In the News
ATR Op-Ed in Washington Examiner: “States move to protect retirees from risky woke capital”
On June 1st, the Washington Examiner published an op-ed by ATR Federal Affairs Manager Bryan Bashur. The piece discusses how states are fighting to remove environmental, social, and governance investments from pension fund returns, while the Biden administration is fully embracing woke capital. The op-ed begins by highlighting the…