Clarksville Times

Chairman Bill Huizenga, leading the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, expressed his concerns at a field hearing titled “Victims of Regulatory Overreach: How the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule Will Harm Americans.” Huizenga criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler's approach, stating, “In a rush to appease the left, Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a nearly 500-page climate-disclosure rule in 2022, which, by the SEC’s own estimation, would cost companies billions of dollars to comply.”

Huizenga highlighted that despite legal warnings and concerns raised, Chair Gensler continued to push forward with the climate disclosure rule. He emphasized, “Chair Gensler ignored the warning from the Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, which ruled against a separate SEC finalized rule about share repurchase disclosure.”

The House Financial Services Subcommittee launched an investigation into the SEC’s climate rule, with Huizenga stating, “Given this lack of cooperation and the content of the material turned over to the committee, I can only conclude that Chair Gensler does not want us to see the flimsy basis on which he has crafted this rule.” Huizenga also criticized the SEC’s climate disclosure rule for undermining the Commission’s existing materiality standard.

In response to recent developments, Huizenga mentioned, “On Friday, just 9 days after the SEC finalized the climate-disclosure rule, judges of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay,” signaling potential challenges to the rule’s implementation. He concluded by warning about the impact of the SEC’s actions on the economy, stating, “Investors should know that the SEC’s overreach will significantly hurt our economy while serving as a boon for special interest groups and far-left activists.”

Despite challenges faced by stakeholders in speaking out against the rule, Huizenga expressed his gratitude to committee members and witnesses, stating, “To the witnesses, thank you! I commend your willingness to be with us this morning.” He ended his remarks by stating, “I look forward to hearing from you and with that, I yield back the balance of my time.”