PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Today, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis issued the following statement on President Joe Biden’s veto of a bill that repealed a Department of Labor Rule facilitating the use of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards in pension fund investments.

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “With this veto, Joe Biden has notified asset managers that they are to ignore returns and focus on reengineering society. If ESG is such a great investment – it would not need a government regulation to protect it. This veto demonstrates that Joe Biden does not care about retirees, but he cares deeply for Larry Fink. They’ve also built programs to monetize ESG – and it’s a lot of easier to shut down your competition through regulation instead of competing for returns. This veto should embolden the House to ramp up its efforts to investigate asset managers for their use of ESG in anti-trust practices.”

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About CFO Jimmy Patronis 
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis is a statewide elected official and a member of Florida’s Cabinet who oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis works each day to fight insurance fraud, support Florida’s firefighters, and ensure the state’s finances are stable to support economic growth in the state. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and Twitter (@FLDFS).