House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan and two other House Republicans sent four letters to the heads of massive companies such as BlackRock and Vanguard, calling on them to explain corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts that could violate federal antitrust laws.
The Daily Caller first obtained copies of the letters, which were sent Thursday to the heads of Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street. Jordan was joined by Republican North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop and Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.
In all of the letters, the lawmakers say the companies appear to have potentially violated U.S. antitrust law by coordinating and entering into collusive agreements to “decarbonize” assets under management and reduce emissions to net zero.“We write because BlackRock, Inc. (BlackRock) is potentially violating U.S. antitrust law by entering into agreements to ‘decarbonize’ its assets under management and reduce emissions to net zero — with potentially harmful effects on Americans’ freedom and economic well-being,” the lawmakers wrote in one of the letters. “Accordingly, to advance our oversight and inform potential legislative reforms, we write to ask BlackRock to produce relevant documents and information.”Jordan sent a subpoena to the CEO of Ceres in May, calling on the executive to explain corporate ESG efforts he said could also be in violation of federal antitrust laws.The letter claims Ceres — a sustainability organization — appears to “facilitate collusion” through Climate Action 100+. Jordan and lawmakers compared Climate Action 100+ to a “cartel” that gets businesses to take action on climate change.
The Caller contacted GFANZ, Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street. The companies were given until “no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 20, 2023” to “produce the requested information to the lawmakers.”
