Efforts to Undermine SEC Safeguards on Full Display at Gensler Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — At a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler today defended the role the commission plays in defending the rights of investors to have access to vital information needed to invest. Ahead of today’s hearings, Tracey Lewis, policy counsel at Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“In the wake of the largest bank bailouts since 2008, continued efforts to deny investors the proper and necessary information to make informed decisions are despicable. From climate change, to political activity information, to cryptocurrency, Republicans want investors in the dark about potential financial pitfalls.
“Investors are already considering a company’s commitment to environmental, social, and good corporate governance issues when making their investment decisions, and standardization of these efforts would safeguard our economy. Demand for information about climate-related risks, impacts, and opportunities will only grow as climate change accelerates. The SEC’s role is to require companies to provide decision-useful information that has material impacts to investors. Dark-money fueled interests want to block access to clear and accurate information because they want to control how people invest, and the transparency of clear data about ESG factors would hurt their donors’ bottom line.”
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