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February 11, 2022

Statement from Reps. Pressley, García, Bowman, Bush, Ocasio-Cortez, and Tlaib Regarding Delays for the SEC’s Climate Rule

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), alongside Representatives Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Cori Bush (MO-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), issued a joint statement on reported delays by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in issuing new disclosure rules regarding climate change risk:

“The climate crisis is here, and it is already having a significant impact on our communities and our economy. We cannot wait for our country’s largest corporations to decide whether they take climate change seriously when extreme floods, heat waves and storms are already devastating our neighborhoods. Just as we must use every tool to prevent climate catastrophe, we must act with strength and urgency to protect our financial system from climate risk.

“We are alarmed that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate-change disclosure rule has been delayed. We urge the Commission to act swiftly and issue a strong rule that holistically accounts for a company’s climate contributions and addresses the urgent need to act on climate-related financial risk.”

Congresswoman Pressley, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, has been a vocal champion for consumers and ensuring that the U.S. banking system mitigates climate risk and works for everyday workers and families. 

Last month, Rep. Pressley and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), and Congressman Mondaire Jones (NY-17) urged President Biden to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell with one focused on eliminating climate risk and advancing racial and economic justice. 

In June, she introduced the Greater Supervision in Banking Act, sweeping legislation that strengthens Congressional oversight of the country’s largest banks in order to protect consumers and prevent deceptive behavior from financial institutions. Specifically, the bill requires the banks to submit an annual public report including, among other things, information about their size and complexity, market activity, employee wages, diversity, climate risk and environmental harms, misconduct, use of forced arbitration, cybersecurity measures, and any enforcement or regulatory actions taken against them over the past year. 

In April 2019, she questioned G-SIB CEOs about discriminatory lending practices during their first appearance before Congress in over a decade. She has also introduced the Payment Modernization Act – legislation requiring a more reasonable timeline for the Federal Reserve’s faster payments system and prioritizing consumer protection and wellbeing in the development process.  

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