FIRST ON FOX – More than 100 members of the House on both sides are attacking a proposal by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule that says it will put “unviable” regulatory requirements on small farms.
In a letter addressed to Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., Lawmakers said a proposed rule for “Improving and standardizing climate-related disclosures for investors” could block farmers from working with public companies.
In all, 118 members of the House are signing the letter, including two swing district Democrats to Representatives Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, and Elaine Luria. D-Va.
“To do business with public companies, small farms would have to disclose a significant amount of climate-related information,” the letter, sent to SEC President Gary Gensler, said. “But unlike large corporations, small farms do not have large-scale compliance departments.”
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“It is not the responsibility of the SEC to regulate farmers and ranchers, which is what this rule would do when it requires public companies to disclose their emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of scope 3,” the members added. .
Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., Is pushing the SEC on a proposed rule that he and more than 100 lawmakers in the House say would effectively ban U.S. farmers from working with public companies. (Rose Rep. Campaign) (Rose Rep. Campaign / Fox News)
The proposed standard is part of a recent trend in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment, in which investors evaluate these criteria in addition to standard information on business performance.
According to the SEC, the proposed rule in question “would require registrants to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports, including information on climate-related risks that are reasonably likely to have a material impact on your business, results of operations or financial situation “.
Representative Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call / Getty Images)
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“I am pleased to support today’s proposal because, if adopted, it would provide investors with consistent, comparable and useful information for making investment decisions,” Gensler said in a statement in March when proposing the rule.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, which supports the letter addressed by Rose, says farmers and ranchers would not be subject to reporting climate information directly to the SEC. But the requirement for companies to report their “Scope 3” greenhouse gas emissions, both upstream and downstream of their supply chains, would effectively force farmers and ranchers to monitor this data. , said the Agricultural Office.
Representative Elaine Luria, D-Va., During a town hall meeting at New Hope Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, VA, on Thursday, October 3, 2019. (Parker Michels-Boyce for The Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Therefore, the SEC would effectively prohibit farmers and ranchers from engaging with key sectors of the U.S. economy unless they spend significant time and resources monitoring environmental data, according to the Farm Bureau.
“Washington, DC bureaucrats, specifically unelected SEC personnel who have no jurisdiction over environmental policy and have never set foot on a farm, should not have as much influence on how farmers care for their land,” the letter said. .
“The time and energy invested in complying with this new regulation will take American farmers away from their primary goal of producing our country’s food, fuel, and fiber,” he continued.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), testified during the Senate hearing on September 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. (BILL CLARK / POOL / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The letter also cited privacy issues and criticized the SEC for its abbreviated comment period for the rule. Lawmakers urge SEC commissioners to “completely rule out this rule”
“The SEC has clearly exceeded its limits and proposed a rule that would have devastating effects on our farmers,” Rose said in a statement. “Farmers should listen and reverse this terrible proposal before risking our entire national supply of safe and affordable food and agricultural products.”
Among the Republicans, in addition to Rose who supports the resolution, are Glenn Thompson, a member of the House Agriculture Committee classification, and representatives Dan Crenshaw, of Texas, John Katko, RNY, Matt Rosendale, R- Mont. and Ashley. Hinson, R-Iowa.