Advocacy Groups Oppose Republican Attempts to Circumvent Department of Labor Rule Protecting Retirement Savings

Groups send letters to House and Senate lawmakers in support of DOL rule
Contact

Ginny Cleaveland, Deputy Press Secretary, Fossil-Free Finance, Sierra Club, ginny.cleaveland@sierraclub.org, 415-508-8498 (Pacific Time)

WASHINGTON, D.C.– As Republican lawmakers aim to strike down a Biden administration rule aimed at protecting retirement savings from long-term financial risks, the Sierra Club has joined organizations representing investors, workers, and advocates to voice their support for the safeguards. 

Over the past months, Republican lawmakers have plotted to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the rule. A vote on the resolution could come as early as this week. 

In a series of letters sent to House and Senate lawmakers, the groups rallied around the Department of Labor’s “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” rule, finalized in November 2022. The rule affirms that fiduciaries who manage retirement savings can account for long-term risks and opportunities in their investment decisions and removes costly and unnecessary barriers to the exercise of shareholder rights. 

  • Letter from Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen, signed by the Sierra Club and approximately 60 other organizations
  • Letter from the League of Conservation Voters and Environmental Defense Fund, signed by the Sierra Club and 14 other organizations

"Americans work hard for their retirement savings and need to be able to trust that their 401(k) and pension plans can be managed to prudently account for all financial risks. ... The DOL rule restores plan managers’ freedom to consider all financially relevant factors, including financial risks due to climate change, so they can offer prudent investment choices to workers. American workers deserve no less," reads the letter from Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, and others.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.