Rep. Houchin Introduces Bill to Stop Retirement Funds From Voting on Social Issues
This bill is sitting in the House Committee on Education and Workforce where it must be reviewed before it can move forward. No action has been taken on this proposal since March 2025. Because there has been no progress for 15 months, the bill is considered stalled.
While this bill has support from House Republicans, it faces a difficult path in the Senate where there is more support for considering social and environmental factors in investing.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 5337 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 5337 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Many union workers participate in multi-employer pension plans whose fiduciaries actively use shareholder votes to push for worker-friendly corporate policies like better labor practices or workplace safety. This bill could limit that advocacy by requiring votes to focus narrowly on direct financial returns. Union-affiliated pension funds that currently engage in ESG-related shareholder activism may need to significantly scale back those activities.
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
The House voted 213-205 to pass the Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act (H.R. 2988), which incorporates the Retirement Proxy Protection Act. The bill limits retirement fund managers' ability to consider ESG factors, requiring decisions to be based on pecuniary interests.
The House passed H.R. 5339, the Protecting Americans' Investments from Woke Policies Act, which includes the Retirement Proxy Protection Act. The legislation restricts pension fund managers from using ESG factors and requires detailed documentation of proxy voting activities.
President Biden denounced the Protecting Americans' Investments from Woke Policies Act, arguing that artificially limiting fiduciaries' ability to consider material information like ESG risks would reduce savings and retirement security for Americans.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Retirement Proxy Protection Act
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