Title: RESPOND Act of 2020
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Restructuring Environmentally Sound Pensions in Order to Negate Disaster Act of 2020 or the RESPOND Act of 2020
This bill addresses issues related to the impact of climate change on the economy. The Federal Reserve Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission must annually report on the economic costs of climate change. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board must establish an advisory panel on the economics of climate change to, among other things, advise how the board may invest in clean and renewable energy.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8760 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8760

To require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the 
  Securities and Exchange Commission to issue an annual report to the 
Congress projecting and accounting for the economic costs directly and 
indirectly caused by the impacts of climate change, and to require the 
   Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to establish a Federal 
   Advisory Panel on the Economics of Climate Change, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2020

Mr. Cleaver (for himself and Ms. Tlaib) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in 
  addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the 
  Securities and Exchange Commission to issue an annual report to the 
Congress projecting and accounting for the economic costs directly and 
indirectly caused by the impacts of climate change, and to require the 
   Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to establish a Federal 
   Advisory Panel on the Economics of Climate Change, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Restructuring Environmentally Sound 
Pensions in Order to Negate Disaster Act of 2020'' or the ``RESPOND Act 
of 2020''.

SEC. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE ECONOMIC COST REPORT.

    The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the 
Securities and Exchange Commission shall, jointly, issue an annual 
report to the Congress projecting and accounting for the economic costs 
directly and indirectly caused by the impacts of climate change, 
including the labor market, economic growth, property and land damage 
from rising sea levels and extreme weather, natural disaster relief and 
mitigation, public health, and other broad areas of the economy.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL ADVISORY PANEL ON THE ECONOMICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

    Section 8438 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(i) Federal Advisory Panel on the Economics of Climate Change.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Board shall establish a panel to 
        be known as the `Federal Advisory Panel on the Economics of 
        Climate Change' (the `Advisory Panel').
            ``(2) Membership.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Advisory Panel shall consist 
                of 9 members, appointed by the Board as follows:
                            ``(i) Three members shall be chosen from 
                        among persons generally recognized for their 
                        impartiality, knowledge, and experience in the 
                        field of labor relations and pay policy.
                            ``(ii) Six members shall be chosen from 
                        among persons with expertise in local, 
                        national, or transnational financing that seeks 
                        to support mitigation and adaptation actions to 
                        combat climate change.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--Not more than 3 members of the 
                Advisory Panel may represent a single employee 
                organization, council, federation, alliance, 
                association, or affiliation of employee organizations.
                    ``(C) Chair.--The Board shall appoint one member of 
                the Advisory Panel appointed pursuant to subparagraph 
                (A)(i) to serve as the Chair of the Advisory Panel.
                    ``(D) Compensation.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Members of the Advisory 
                        Council may not receive pay by reason of their 
                        service on the Advisory Council, nor shall 
                        members who are not otherwise employees of the 
                        United States be considered employees by reason 
                        of any such service.
                            ``(ii) Expenses.--Notwithstanding clause 
                        (i) members of the Advisory Panel appointed 
                        pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) may be paid 
                        expenses in accordance with section 5703.
            ``(3) Duties.--The Advisory Panel shall--
                    ``(A) advise the Board on how, consistent with 
                their fiduciary duties, the Board can further 
                decarbonize their portfolio;
                    ``(B) identify possible investment opportunities in 
                clean and renewable energy and other emerging 
                industries that would maximize returns;
                    ``(C) produce a comparative analysis comparing the 
                fiduciary efficacy and responsibility of existing 
                investment practices of the Board with decarbonized 
                portfolio alternatives; and
                    ``(D) advise the Board on how to identify, assess, 
                and manage the investment risks and opportunities of 
                climate change and prepare for a transition to a low-
                carbon economy.
            ``(4) Examination.--In carrying out the duties described 
        under paragraph (3), the Advisory Panel shall examine the 
        following, and issue a report to the Board on the results of 
        such examination:
                    ``(A) Economic and policy challenges facing the 
                fossil fuel industry over the short, medium, and long 
                term.
                    ``(B) Quantitative and qualitative analysis and 
                modeling of the economic impact of climate change on 
                Federal employee retirement programs (e.g., 
                diversification of investments, risk tolerance, future 
                economic and workforce trends, new opportunities, 
                expected losses, and returns).
                    ``(C) The current state of, and outlook for, clean 
                energy, including possible investment opportunities.
                    ``(D) Experience (including performance analysis) 
                of other pension funds and investors which have 
                undertaken concerted de-carbonization efforts or 
                strategic divestment from fossil fuel holdings in order 
                to maximize the efficacy and stability of their assets 
                while minimizing their climate-related risk exposure.
                    ``(E) Strategic options to address climate-related 
                investment risks through further de-carbonization, 
                including--
                            ``(i) transitioning to a low-carbon or 
                        carbon-free benchmark index for all public 
                        equities;
                            ``(ii) divesting from significant fossil 
                        fuel holdings that are not responsible 
                        fiduciary investments for beneficiaries; and
                            ``(iii) exploring the use of organizations 
                        to de-risk investments in carbon dependent 
                        funds.
            ``(5) Consultation with fema.--The Advisory Panel shall, in 
        preparing the report described under paragraph (4), consult 
        with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on any matters 
        within the Agency's jurisdiction.
            ``(6) Results of examination.--If the Board, after 
        examining the report issued by the Advisory Panel under 
        paragraph (4), determines that pension yields would be both 
        financially profitable and still consistent with the Board's 
        fiduciary duties if low-carbon investment strategies were 
        implemented, the Board shall set a plan in place to transition 
        the Board's investment practices accordingly.''.
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