Rep. Bice goes after the SEC and its environmental calculations

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Oklahoma Congresswoman Stephanie Bice is taking on those environmental calculations the Biden administration, especially the SEC, favors in its attempts at climate-related disclosures.

The Republican Representative from the 5th congressional district introduced the Stop Environmental calculations Act. It is aimed at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and would stop the SEC from requiring an issuer to make climate-related disclosures.

“The SEC’s recently proposed rule would add nearly half a million dollars in compliance costs for publicly traded companies every year,” declared Bice in explaining why she introduced the Act.

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“The SEC is tasked with overseeing financial markets and does not have the authority to require public companies to report Scope 3 emissions, climate risks, or greenhouse gas emissions.”

The proposed rule by the SEC was released in March of 2022, which requires public companies to report detailed disclosures on climate risk and green house gas emissions. This includes Scope 3 reporting, which the EPA does not require. The new requirements are estimated to cost public companies $420,000 to $530,000 annually in compliance costs.

Congresswoman Bice has previously advocated against this proposed rule by sending a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler in December. The letter requested answers to questions, including what gave the SEC their authority to create additional regulatory burdens, how the rule fits in the SEC’s mission statement, and why climate disclosures are necessary for investors. The Congresswoman did not receive a reply from the SEC.

“After the SEC’s failure to respond to my letter, I introduced the Stop Environmental Calculations (SEC) Act, which will prevent the federal government from adding burdensome regulations on businesses and halt this blatant government overreach. Amidst stock market uncertainty, ongoing inflation, and supply chain shortages, the last thing we should do is add costs and make it harder for businesses to grow.”

This legislation has 3 original cosponsors: Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Buddy Carter (R-GA), and Dan Newhouse (R-WA).

The text of the legislation can be found here.