Townhall's readers are all too familiar with ESG — environmental, social and governance — policies and the nefarious use of such standards to make an end-run around the democratic process and Americans' elected representatives to implement changes that would never be approved through proper channels.
The more that comes to light about ESG and how it is being forced on American companies and their shareholders — and exceedingly rooted out by bold state treasurers and attorneys general — the crazier things become.
This week, U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil (R-WI) and Andy Barr (R-KY) fired off a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ringing the alarm on the recent acquisition of a major U.S. advisory firm by a German company, and the acquired company's subsequent attempts to force ESG climate-related policies on Americans.
Steil and Barr asked Yellen to begin a CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) review of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) — the largest proxy advisory firm — following its acquisition by German entity Deutsche Börse.
The lawmakers' letter notes that pursuing "net-zero" goals requires "shutting down America’s existing natural gas and coal plants and replacing them with net-zero-aligned technologies for which China controls 70%–80% of the supply chain." What's more, the letter warns that "ISS’s net-zero agenda threatens to undermine our nation’s energy independence, make our critical infrastructure dependent on China, weaken our national defense, and jeopardize our food security."
Foreign entities should not dictate U.S. energy policies.
— Rep. Andy Barr (@RepAndyBarr) May 10, 2024
ISS’ aggressive ESG agenda jepordizes our national security and energy independence. @RepBryanSteil and I are calling on the U.S. Treasury Department to vet this acquisition more seriously. ⬇️https://t.co/MGJC0nG19g
Will Hild, the executive director of Consumers' Research and a major player in efforts to expose ESG policies and hold those pushing them accountable to shareholders, praised Steil and Barr for their "excellent letter" exposing the "serious national security issue" the lawmakers exposed.
"The foreign ownership of the only two sizable proxy advisor firms, ISS and Glass-Lewis, has received far too little scrutiny given their massive influence," Hild explained. "Specifically, why have we allowed foreigners to control these firms when taken together they have the single most influence over shareholder votes in America."
"Glass Lewis and ISS's advice weighs heavily on the makeup of boards of directors, C-suite hiring, and even capital investments within public companies," Hild emphasized. "To give just one example, their push for absurd targets like Net Zero increases the cost of gasoline and shuts down critical electrical grid capacity in our nation."
Hild joined Steil and Barr in saying CFIUS "should immediately heed" the lawmakers' warning to CFIUS and "investigate whether foreign ownership of these two firms should be banned."