Sen. Tim Scott’s efforts to overturn a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) climate disclosure rule have gained bipartisan support, including from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.
Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, which allows Congress to expedite the process of voting down administrative rules. This move follows the SEC’s adoption of a rule requiring companies to disclose how their operations impact the climate.
Senator Manchin (Credits: CNN)
The SEC’s rule mandates that large and mid-sized companies report all greenhouse gas emissions to investors, with independent audits of these reports.
Scott criticized the SEC’s rule as “federal outreach at its worst,” arguing that it poses a threat to economic opportunity nationwide. He accused SEC Chair Gary Gensler of prioritizing left-wing political agendas over considering the real-world impacts of regulatory actions.
The CRA resolution has garnered 34 co-sponsors, including Manchin, providing bipartisan support that could lead to the legislation reaching President Joe Biden’s desk.
US Sen. Tim Scott (Credits: Roll Call)
The resolution could bypass Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer through the CRA process and gain passage with support from centrist senators like Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona.
While the Republican-controlled House is likely to approve the resolution, Biden is expected to veto it, as he has done with other Congressional Review Act resolutions that have reached the Senate.
Scott argued that the SEC’s rule deviates from its mission to regulate capital markets and ensure economic success for all Americans. He characterized the rule as an attempt to impose a partisan climate agenda on American businesses.
