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A Republican bill to prevent pension fund managers from basing investment decisions on factors like climate change cleared Congress on Wednesday, setting up a confrontation with President Joe Biden, who is expected to veto the measure, Reuters reported. The U.S. Senate voted 50-46 to adopt a resolution to overturn a Labor Department rule making it easier for fund managers to consider environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, issues for investments and shareholder rights decisions, such as through proxy voting. The outcome highlighted Republicans' willingness to oppose their traditional allies in Wall Street and corporate America that adopt what party lawmakers characterize as "woke", liberal practices. Two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin and Jon Tester, voted with Republicans. Both face reelection in Republican-leaning states in 2024. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the bill on Tuesday.

Ohio lawmakers have revived bipartisan legislation that would level the playing field for Ohioans who were sexually abused by Boy Scout leaders and want to seek financial relief from the organization, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported. Ohio House Bill 35, introduced last week by Reps. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, and Jessica Miranda, D-Forest Park, stems from rules laid out in the Boy Scouts of America's bankruptcy settlement. It would scrap Ohio's civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse in bankruptcy cases, allowing survivors to recoup the full amount owed to them. The House passed the bill late last year, but it failed to clear the Senate during the Legislature's lame-duck session. That means Seitz and Miranda are starting from scratch. Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy in 2020 as it faced hundreds of lawsuits across the country from former scouts who said they were molested and raped by leaders and volunteers. Nearly 2,000 abuse claims have been filed in Ohio alone. The settlement, approved in September, allows survivors to apply for a $3,500 expedited payout. Alternatively, survivors can pursue an independent review or see where they fall on a matrix that doles out money based on the severity and frequency of abuse. For those two options, the state's statute of limitations is a key factor. In Ohio, survivors of child sex abuse have until age 30 to file a lawsuit against the perpetrator or affiliated institution. Per the settlement rules, Ohio's current law would limit survivors to 30% to 45% of what they're eligible for under the matrix. They would not qualify for an independent review.

Republican lawmakers this week are reviving legislation that would try to stop the Labor Department from restricting employers and investment firms from offering cryptocurrency as part of 401(k) retirement plans, Politico reported. The bill, which Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) will re-introduce Wednesday and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) will introduce Friday, would reverse the department's March 2022 guidance that threatened investigations into retirement plan administrators if they opted to invest employee funds in digital assets. The Labor Department has said it issued the warning because of a lack of clarity around crypto regulation and because of concerns about scams. It preceded the crypto market meltdown from late last year, when the collapse of the FTX exchange revealed extensive industry mismanagement. But Tuberville said in a statement that "the federal government shouldn’t choose winners and losers in the investment game." Donalds called the Labor Department move a "gross example of government overreach."

Senators agree on the need for comprehensive crypto regulation, but they don’t appear to have a clear pathway to bipartisan legislation, The Hill reported. At a Senate Banking Hearing on Tuesday, Democrats expressed doubt about the value of crypto, while Republicans pushed for a more industry-friendly regulatory environment that encourages crypto firms to set up shop in the U.S. Partisan differences over how to regulate crypto reduce the chance that Congress will pass a comprehensive bill anytime soon, despite the high-profile collapse of FTX and numerous other crypto firms that weren’t subject to major consumer protection and financial transparency rules. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the committee’s chairman, said that Congress should focus on legislation to protect consumers and ensure that crypto doesn’t become integrated into the broader financial system, citing the recent failures. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the committee’s ranking member, said that regulators aren’t being clear about whether they have the authority to properly regulate crypto assets, adding that Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler must testify before the committee soon.

Bipartisan legislation introduced on Feb. 6 by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) aims to rescue rural American hospitals facing bankruptcy, the Rippon Advance reported. “For many communities and families, this is a life or death situation,” said Rep. Graves on Wednesday. “I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan solution that will make common-sense reforms to put our rural hospitals back on solid ground and rescue many from the brink.” The "Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act," H.R. 833, which Rep. Graves sponsored alongside lead original cosponsor Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) would amend the Social Security Act to authorize enhanced payments to rural healthcare providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, according to the text of the bill. If enacted, H.R. 833 would eliminate Medicare sequestration for rural hospitals and make Medicare telehealth service enhancements permanent for federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Graves’ office. The bill also would permanently extend increased Medicare payments for rural ground ambulance services that are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2024, and expand access to certified registered nurse anesthetists’ services, the summary says.

The House on Monday passed a bipartisan bill that aims to prevent the financial exploitation of elderly and disabled Americans by scammers amid a surge in such crimes that have impacted one in five senior citizens, FoxBusiness.com reported. Introduced by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act would allow a registered open-end investment company like those that operate many mutual funds to delay the redemption period of a security if they reasonably believe it was requested through the financial exploitation of a senior citizen over the age of 65 or a person with disabilities who cannot protect their interests. The House passed the bill on a 419-0 vote Monday evening. "Sadly, about one in five senior investors fall prey to financial fraud, and those investors lose an estimated $2.9 billion annually in reported cases," Wagner said in remarks on the House floor. "However, according to the National Adult Protective Services Association, only one in 44 cases is ever even reported." "This legislation would codify both a FINRA and SEC-issued no-action letter from 2018 that permits a mutual fund and its transfer agent to delay the redemption period of a security if they reasonably believe a request was made by exploiting seniors or other vulnerable adults. It does not stop this trade from going through, it just takes a pause while they check with that senior to make sure that there hasn't been fraud or elder abuse," she explained. Under the bill, the company could initially delay redemption for up to 15 days and then an additional 10 days if they determine there was financial exploitation. It would also require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to make legislative and regulatory recommendations to prevent the financial exploitation of elderly and vulnerable adults.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) are asking the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to do more to regulate the audits of cryptocurrency companies in the wake of recent high-profile bankruptcies of companies like FTX, AccountingToday.com reported. In a letter Wednesday to PCAOB chair Erica Williams, they pointed to the "sham audits" touted by crypto companies. They pointed to the limited audits provided by firms like Prager Metis and Armanino for FTX prior to its collapse, and the insufficient "proof of reserve" examinations offered by other firms. "The ongoing reports of scandalous accounting practices in the crypto industry raise questions about crypto accounting firms' independence and the methods they employed to assess the integrity of crypto firms' financial statements, underscoring the need for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to act to ensure accountability," Warren and Wyden wrote. "When PCAOB-registered auditors perform sham audits — even for firms that may lay outside of the PCAOB's jurisdiction — they tarnish the credibility of the PCAOB and undermine confidence in the PCAOB-registered auditors that investors and the public rely on when making investment decisions."