Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency relating to "Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions".
Introduced April 5, 2024
Latest action (Jul 30, 2024): Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 515.
Plain-Language Summary (cached)
This bill uses a process called the Congressional Review Act to cancel a specific federal rule before it takes full effect. The rule in question was created by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which is the federal agency that oversees and regulates national banks. The rule established guidance on how large financial institutions should identify, measure, and manage financial risks related to climate change. The guidance being targeted encouraged banks to think about how climate-related factors, such as extreme weather events or shifts in energy markets, could affect their financial stability and the value of their assets. The OCC framed this as a risk management matter, asking large banks to incorporate these considerations into their existing planning and oversight processes. If this bill passes both chambers of Congress and is signed into law, the OCC's climate risk guidance would be nullified and could not be reissued in substantially the same form without new authorization from Congress. The Congressional Review Act is a tool that allows Congress to overturn recently finalized federal agency rules through a streamlined legislative process, requiring only a simple majority in both chambers rather than the usual 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
How Each Side Frames It
How the Left Frames It
Left-leaning commentators, lawmakers, and media outlets would likely frame this bill as a dangerous rollback of common-sense financial risk management, arguing that climate change poses genuine systemic risks to the banking sector that regulators have a responsibility to assess and manage. They would characterize the effort to nullify the OCC's climate risk guidance as prioritizing fossil fuel industry interests over the long-term stability of financial institutions and the broader economy. Progressive voices would also argue that using the Congressional Review Act to strike down this rule undermines the expertise of financial regulators and leaves large banks unprepared for the economic disruptions associated with climate change.
How the Right Frames It
Right-leaning commentators, lawmakers, and media outlets would frame this bill as a necessary check on regulatory overreach, arguing that the OCC's climate risk principles represent an attempt to use financial regulation as a backdoor mechanism for advancing a political climate agenda that was never authorized by Congress. They would contend that forcing banks to incorporate speculative climate scenarios into their risk management decisions distorts lending and capital allocation, potentially disadvantaging energy producers and driving up costs for businesses and consumers. Conservative voices would also argue that climate policy decisions of this magnitude should be made through the democratic legislative process rather than imposed by unelected regulators on the financial sector.
AI-synthesized based on each side's publicly stated policy priorities — not quotes from specific outlets.
Who's Backing This Bill
Sponsored by Rep. Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19]
Cosponsoring Representatives