March 23 (UPI) — House Republicans on Thursday failed to override President Joe Biden‘s veto of a bill that would have prevented retirement fund managers from considering social factors when making investments.
The 219-200 vote fell far short of the two-thirds needed to overcome the president’s veto.
House Republicans had passed the bill as a way to take aim at environmental and social governance, or ESG, strategies. The Labor Department passed a rule last year that makes it easier for retirement plans to take into account climate change and other social factors.
Republicans have said that it is unfair to certain companies, including in the oil and gas industry, and can be bad for investors. The bill passed the Senate last week with Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., joining with all Republicans to vote yes.
However, Biden had said he would veto the bill before it even passed the House.
“Retirement plan fiduciaries should be able to consider any factor that maximizes financial returns for retirees across the country,” he said before the House voted no the bill, according to USA Today. “That is not controversial — that is common sense.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said that his chamber would continue to vote fight against the rule.
“House Republicans will keep fighting to overturn this rule allowing ESG investing and to make sure Americans are getting the best retirement they can, not the most woke,” he wrote in his weekly floor lookout, according to ABC News.