The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance submitted public comments today opposing proposed regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor that would harm retirement savers and suppress their voices on critical environmental, social and governance issues.

The proposed rule would force ERISA-regulated fiduciaries to ignore material, long-term considerations in their proxy voting policies, or risk facing high-cost, burdensome documentation requirements. In doing so, the proposal would disenfranchise millions of retirement savers and allow for corporate and special interests to skirt accountability to investors. The Alliance called on the Department to extend the comment period last month well beyond the current 30-days, given the negative, far-reaching implications of the proposal for plan sponsors and retirement savers alike.

Unfortunately, this rulemaking is one of many recent proposals from the Administration that seek to stifle the ESG market and undermine impact investing principles more broadly – all amid a public health and economic crisis. The Alliance will continue to push back against these damaging trends at a time when stability, transparency and accountability for investors is needed most.