House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has announced an expansion of the committee’s investigation into what he describes as politically motivated discrimination within the U.S. financial system and the Biden Administration’s alleged support for such practices.
Chairman Comer is seeking information about insurance companies that have canceled policies based on customers’ political views or lawful business activities. The committee is also examining whether major investment and pension fund managers are using clients’ money to promote environmental, social, and governance (ESG) related political agendas.
“The Oversight Committee is investigating discriminatory practices in the American financial system and the Biden Administration’s role in supporting them. Whether it is using the boardroom to achieve what the political left could not accomplish at the ballot box, or canceling Americans’ insurance policies and debanking them for their political views, these actions are wrong and deprive Americans of their constitutional rights. We are seeking to hold regulators under the Biden Administration accountable for contributing to this politically motivated discrimination and to determine whether legislation is needed to prevent such actions in the future,” said Chairman Comer.
The committee has engaged with whistleblowers who say their insurance policies were canceled due to their political positions or because they operated businesses considered unfavorable by progressive activists. In a letter addressed to Gary Anderson, CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Comer requests information on whether state laws provide sufficient protection against arbitrary cancellations and if any rules enacted by regulators or legislatures might constitute anticompetitive or unfair business practices under federal law.
Additionally, Comer’s inquiry extends to how investment and pension fund managers may have used client funds for political activism through proxy votes and other engagement strategies. He has sent letters requesting information from Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent and SEC Chairman Paul Akins about why some large investment managers allegedly prioritized political agendas over fiduciary duties owed to beneficiaries covered under ERISA regulations.
Comer is also seeking input from organizations including Strive Asset Management, Alliance Defending Freedom, National Center for Public Policy Research, and Consumers’ Research. These groups have opposed corporate initiatives they view as examples of financial discrimination based on politics.
James Comer currently represents Kentucky’s 1st district in Congress, having served since 2016 after replacing Ed Whitfield. Before his time in Congress, he was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2001 to 2012. Born in Carthage, Tennessee in 1972, Comer resides in Tompkinsville and graduated from Western Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in 1993.
Further details regarding this investigation can be found through recent inquiries made by Chairman Comer into debanking issues involving tech founders and crypto-related activity suppression by federal agencies.
