In The News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today,Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the Protect Farmers from the SEC Actalongside more than 80 of his House colleagues in direct response to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed climate disclosure rul, “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors." This proposed rule would effectively force publicly traded companies to require small, independent, family farms to report on-farm data regarding individual operations and day-to-day activities, hindering the ability of American farmers and ranchers to compete in global markets and creating onerous compliance requirements for operations with few or no employees. The Protect Farmers from the SEC Act would prohibit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from requiring an issuer of securities to disclose greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from upstream and downstream activities in the issuer’s value chain arising from farms and ranches.

“Farmers in Central Washington and across the country are struggling due to overreaching regulations, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and skyrocketing inflation. Imposing even more regulations on the men and women who produce the food for our families would be devastating at any time, but it may well cripple the entire industry when food prices are already at a 40-year high,” said Rep. Newhouse. “The SEC’s proposed climate rules are a major government overreach and would make it nearly impossible for farmers to continue to farm the way they do — keeping sustainability and conservation in mind. I am proud to stand up for our nation's farmers, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and ensure U.S. farmers and ranchers can continue to survive and thrive.”

The Protect Farmers from the SEC Act is supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Cotton Council, National Pork Producers Council, USA Rice, American Sugar Alliance, American Soybean Association, National Potato Council, United States Cattlemen’s Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Agricultural Retailers Association, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association.

You can read the full text of the Protect Farmers from the SEC Acthere.

Background:

Specifically, the Protect Farmers from the SEC Act:

• Prohibits the SEC from requiring an issuer of securities to disclose greenhouse gas emissions from upstream and downstream activities in the issuer’s value chain arising from a farm
• Defines the production, manufacturing, or harvesting of an agricultural product through the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, outlines upstream and downstream activities, and defines greenhouse gases
• Removes the SEC’s exemptive authority in relation to this Act

Original cosponsors include: Representatives Jerry L. Carl (AL-01), Barry Moore (AL-02), Mike Rogers (AL-03), Rick Crawford (AR-01), Steve Womack (AR-03), Bruce Westerman (AR-04), Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Tom McClintock  (CA-04), Young Kim (CA-39), Ken Buck (CO-4), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Neal Dunn (FL-02), Kat Cammack (FL-03), Michael Waltz (FL-06), Bill Posey (FL-08), Scott Franklin (FL-15), Buddy Carter (GA-01), Drew Ferguson (GA-03), Austin Scott (GA-08), Rick Allen (GA-12), Ashley Hinson (IA-01), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), Randy Feenstra (IA-04), Russ Fulcher (ID-01), Mike Bost (IL-12), Mary Miller (IL-15), Jim Baird (IN-04), Greg Pence (IN-06), Larry Bucshon (IN-08), Tracey Mann (KS-01), Jake La Turner (KS-02), Ron Estes (KS-04), Andy Barr (KY-06), Clay Higgins (LA-03), Mike Johnson (LA-04), Julia Letlow (LA-05), Jack Bergman (MI-01), Tim Walberg (MI-07), Pete Stauber (MN-08), Sam Graves (MO-06), Michael Guest (MS-03), Greg Murphy (NC-03), Virginia Foxx (NC-05),David Rouzer (NC-07), Richard Hudson (NC-08),Ted Budd (NC-13), Kelly Armstrong (ND-AL), Mike Flood (NE-01), Yvette Herrell (NM-02), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), Chris Jacobs (NY-27), Brad Wenstrup (OH-02), Bill Johnson (OH-06), Bob Gibbs (OH-07), Mike Carey (OH-15), Markwayne Mullin (OK-02), Frank Lucas (OK-03), Tom Cole (OK-04), Stephanie Bice (OK-05), Dan Meuser (PA-09),  Nancy Mace (SC-01), Joe Wilson (SC-02), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Dusty Johnson (SD-AL), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Lance Gooden (TX-05), Jake Ellzey (TX-06), Michael McCaul (TX-10), August Pfluger (TX-11), Randy Weber (TX-14), Pete Sessions (TX-17), Chris Stewart (UT-02), John Curtis (UT-03), Rob Wittman (VA-01), Bob Good (VA-05), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), David McKinley (WV-01), Tom Tiffany (WI-07), Liz Cheney (WY-AL).