6.16.21
On June 16, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1187, the Corporate Governance Improvement and Investor Protection Act, by a 215-214 largely party-line vote. The legislation incorporates five separate bills approved by the House Financial Services Committee in May and would require public companies to disclose data on political spending, climate change risks and mitigation efforts, and compensation inequality. In the Senate, Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has expressed support for enhanced ESG disclosures. In recent hearings, however, Republicans have been extremely vocal opposing “name and shame” ESG reporting requirements, accusing Democrats of using securities law to push a progressive social agenda. It is unclear if the narrowly divided Senate will take up the bill and whether there is enough support to move the bill through the upper chamber.