Coalition represents more than $600 billion in assets under management
WV Press Release Sharing
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore today announced he has formed a 15-state coalition of state financial officers who have committed to scrutinize or potentially curtail future business with banks that adopt corporate policies to cut off financing for the coal, oil and natural gas industries.
Collectively, the coalition represents more than $600 billion in public assets under management and will begin considering whether financial institutions are engaged in boycotts of America’s traditional energy industries when awarding state banking contracts.
“I’m proud to continue to stand with my colleagues against these attacks on our states’ coal, oil and natural gas industries,” Treasurer Moore said. “These industries – which are engaged in perfectly legal activities – provide jobs, paychecks and benefits to thousands of hard-working families in our states and we will not stand idly by and allow our peoples’ livelihoods to be destroyed to advance a radical social agenda.”
The coalition of 16 State Treasurers, Auditors and Comptrollers has sent an open letter to banking industry officials notifying them that each state will take concrete steps toward selecting financial institutions that are not engaged in harmful fossil fuel industry boycotts for the states’ future financial services contracts.
“As the chief financial officers of our states, we have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of our people – so if a company says it will engage in tactics to diminish our state’s funds and destroy our people’s livelihoods, we cannot entrust those same institutions with taxpayer dollars,” Treasurer Moore said. “We cannot allow companies that have a stated goal of harming key industries or the economies of our states to then turn around and try to profit from our states’ finances.”
The letter makes clear that officials aren’t asking for special treatment for these industries, just that they be treated like any other legal business operating in the free market, without prejudice or preference.
“Woke capitalists and globalist actors have been using the guise of climate change to press for anti-American reforms that reduce our country’s competitiveness against hostile nations like Russia and China,” Treasurer Moore said. “As a result, in less than a year our country has gone from energy independence to having a President who is begging OPEC and Russia to pump more oil. It’s time we fight back to protect our economies, jobs, tax revenue and energy independence from these increasing attacks on our critical industries.”
Treasurer Moore earlier this year led a coalition of 15 state Treasurers to oppose the Biden administration’s attempts to eliminate investment in the fossil fuel industry.
Since that time, the Biden administration has issued guidance to international multilateral development banks that seeks to cut off investment in fossil fuel projects around the world. The President has also nominated a candidate for Comptroller for the Currency – who would be in charge of chartering and regulating U.S. banks – who has openly said she would like to bankrupt coal, oil and natural gas companies.
“This administration has made clear they will not stop their attacks on the American energy industry, so it’s time that we, as a collective of states, stand up for our people’s interests,” Treasurer Moore said. “We will continue to take the lead in defending our citizens and these industries from these misguided, un-American attacks.”
A copy of the letter can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/3CA5Hek.
