Sen. Cruz Introduces Bill to Stop Abuse of Federal Retirement Funds for DEI and ESG

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the Stop TSP ESG Act. The legislation would prevent professional asset managers who manage federal employee retirement funds from using those taxpayer dollars to push Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies through corporate shareholder votes. The retirement savings program for U.S. government employees is the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which holds over $1 trillion in assets and in which the core mutual funds are managed primarily by BlackRock Capital Advisers and State Street Global Advisors, which use their TSP holdings to exert proxy voting power to push ESG and DEI policies.

Sen. Cruz said, “Americans deserve assurance that their retirement savings are being invested in the most fiscally responsible ways. Instead investment fund managers are using the retirement savings of federal employees to push ESG and DEI agendas that conflict with their investors’ interests. The Stop TSP ESG Act would end that practice and restore accountability, and I urge my colleagues to pass it expeditiously.”

Read the bill text here.