Gensler has a Democrat problem

Oct 21, 2022 View in browser   By Debra Kahn and Jordan Wolman THE WEEK THAT WAS Look behind you, Gary! | (Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images) SEC FIRING SQUAD — We knew Republicans hated the SEC's climate rule. Now it turns out Democrats might have a problem with it, too, as our Declan Harty reports . A dozen Democrats sent SEC Chair Gary Gensler a previously unreported letter last month asking him to slow the pace of rulemaking across the board, as the agency considers a swath of proposed rules on climate risk disclosure, hedge fund transparency and stock market plumbing. "It is our belief that a thorough and thoughtful comment process will only yield better results for investors and our economy," wrote the group of Senate Dems, led by Montana's Jon Tester and including Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly of Arizona, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, Tom Carper and Chris Coons of Delaware, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Gary Peters of Michigan and John Hickenlooper of Colorado. Others have complained about short timelines, including Republicans like Sens. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Thom Tillis of North Carolina and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. Gensler has pushed back, saying that a 30-day period is what's required by law and that the number of proposals is largely on par with what previous SEC chairs have done. (Agency staff is also concerned by the pace, though: An SEC inspector general report released last week flagged concerns that the uptick in rulemaking is straining employees. The SEC has seen attrition rates jump from 5.4 percent in fiscal year 2021 to an estimated 6.4 percent in 2022 — the highest in a decade, according to the report, as Declan wrote Thursday .) The letter presents yet another complication for the SEC as it faces the near certainty of legal challenges over its upcoming rules, as well as the prospect of investigations by Republicans should they take one or both houses of Congress in next month's midterms. CLIMATE IN THE NEW YEAR — Also from Declan: The SEC will not vote on a final version of its widely watched climate risk disclosure rule in 2022, a person familiar with the regulator's rule-making process told POLITICO. With upwards of 15,000 comments received, SEC staff is still sifting through the feedback and has yet to draw up the final rule text, the person said. SUSTAINABLE FINANCE WOKE WARS PT. XIV — Nineteen Republican attorneys general this week asked Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. to provide information about their dealings with the U.N.'s Net-Zero Banking Alliance. Not to be outdone, 17 congressional Democrats wrote to JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf on Thursday imploring them to withdraw financial support for the State Financial Officers Foundation, a group of conservative officials pushing an anti-ESG agenda. (Jamie and Charles: Please get in touch if you'd like to discuss your case of whiplash.) The Houston Chronicle, for one, isn't buying the GOP line. On Thursday it cited Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's anti-ESG efforts in endorsing his challenger, accountant Janet Dudding: "Instead of dealing with Hegar's posturing, we'd rather have someone focused on the job they're running for." BUILDING BLOCKS Coming to a city near you, no thanks to the feds. | Chris Eades/Getty Images SCOOTERS ON K ST? — Almost the entire transportation sector, from airlines to automakers, is focused on Washington as historic climate and infrastructure packages roll out. But not scooters, as David Ferris writes for POLITICO's E&E News. The micro-mobility industry was left out of the Inflation Reduction Act: The House passed language offering a 30 percent tax credit that would have shaved $900 off the price of an e-bike, but it didn't make it into the final text. City councils and municipal transportation departments are making decisions that determine whether a scooter-sharing system is profitable, and where the vehicles can safely travel. The conflicts get hyperlocal, as cyclists, residents and merchants spar over parking and bike lanes. "It's a contentious city-by-city battle, street-by-street battle, block-by-block battle," said Julia Thayne DeMordaunt, an urban transformation specialist at the think tank RMI. CONCRETE OPTIONS — Government support for low-carbon cement could help bind the construction industry to green building techniques, Kelsey Brugger reports for POLITICO's E&E News. Lobbying by trade associations, the BlueGreen Alliance and think tank Third Way helped secure nearly $6 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act — nearly a third more than was in Build Back Better — for the Department of Energy to help reduce concrete's significant carbon footprint. Next up will be a debate over the definition of "low-carbon" concrete. "I think that is a not totally settled answer," said Charlie Martin , a policy adviser with the BlueGreen Alliance, a group that seeks to marry labor and environmental interests. "Is it low carbon because it is better than industry average? Is it in the top quarter of the cleanest options?" EXTREMES LOSS AND DAMAGES — You know things are bad when the Florida Legislature has to call two special sessions in one year on insurance. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and legislative leaders are coming back to Tallahassee after the November election to deal with the state's crumbling property insurance industry in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Bruce Ritchie and Gary Fineout report . More than 500,000 claims worth an estimated $6.45 billion have already been filed with private insurers as a result of Ian, but that number is expected to continue to grow. A previous special session in May resulted in an agreement to use taxpayer money to add a $2 billion layer of reinsurance for private insurers. DeSantis says the high cost of construction means insurers need to charge less(?): "It costs way more to replace a roof today than it did just three years ago," he said. "So we need to do everything we can to push back on that and fight for a more competitive market where rates are incentivized to go down." YOU TELL US Happy Friday! Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott , deputy editor Debra Kahn , and reporter Jordan Wolman . Reach us at gmott@politico.com , dkahn@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com . Want more? You can have it. Sign up for the Long Game . Four days a week and still free. That's sustainability! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — JPMorgan's $30 billion pledge towards closing the racial wealth gap is going okay, the NYT finds . — An Oregon county sheriff arrested a Forest Service employee for letting a controlled burn escape onto private land. — A Bloomberg opinion columnist examines evidence that Republicans and big business are headed for a breakup.   Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman   Follow us

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