President Joe Biden (D) vetoed the first legislation of his presidency on March 20, 2023. Biden vetoed H. J. Res. 30, a joint resolution of disapproval under the terms of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that sought to void a Department of Labor rule amending the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow retirement plans to consider certain environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors in investment-related decisions.
The CRA creates a review period during which Congress, by passing a joint resolution of disapproval later signed by the president, can overturn a new federal agency rule and block the issuing agency from creating a similar rule.
The ESG investment approach involves considering the extent to which corporations conform to certain environmental, social, and corporate governance standards (such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals) and avoiding investments in or otherwise withholding funding from companies that do not meet the standard.
