CHARLESTON – West Virginia’s Riley Moore is just one of several state treasurers and financial officers opposed to President Joe Biden’s nominee for a key position with the Federal Reserve.
Biden has picked Sarah Bloom Raskin to be the Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank.
Raskin is a Duke University law professor, and she has been outspoken in pushing the Federal Reserve and other financial agencies to use regulatory powers to stifle the flow of capital to the coal, oil and natural gas industries. She was questioned February 3 by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
In a 2020 New York Times opinion piece titled “Why is the Fed Spending So Much Money on a Dying Industry?,” Raskin said the Federal Reserve should use its power to withdraw capital from traditional energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas and direct it toward emerging technologies.
“Sarah Bloom Raskin has made clear on multiple occasions that she wants to use the power of the Fed to direct capital based on her personal social agenda rather than the demands of the economy,” Moore said. “We cannot allow President Biden to turn the Federal Reserve into a radical central planning politburo aimed at reshaping our society – we must reject this nominee.”
Earlier this week, Moore was part of a coalition of 24 state treasurers, auditors and financial officers from 21 states asking Biden to withdraw Raskin’s nomination.
“It is clear that Ms. Raskin is willing to place the growth and stability of the U.S. economy at risk to achieve her preferred social outcomes,” the coalition wrote.
Moore said Raskin’s appointment would be “terrible news” for West Virginia.
“Essentially, looking at her views and the public comments she’s made over the years, she wants to implement ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) in the Fed, which means she wants to use the Fed to implement climate change policy,” Moore told The West Virginia Record. “The Fed should be focused on controlling inflation and promoting growth.
“This is the next level and the next step in ‘Woke Capitalism’ in this country. They’re pushing it in the financial services sector now from the Fed on down.
“And how does that affect West Virginia? You’re going to have the Fed – the U.S. Government – that sets monetary policy, basically divesting out of the energy sector. They’d basically be saying, ‘This industry is good, and this industry is bad.’
“I am just hoping and praying our U.S. Senators will push back on this.”
While Republican U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito would seem to side with Moore on this issue, things aren’t as secure with Democrat Joe Manchin.
Earlier this week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) praised all five of Biden’s nominees for the Federal Reserve, saying “They all look extremely qualified.” But, he also said he wanted to study the nominees more because he’s very concerned about key financial issues, including inflation.
Moore said Raskin’s appointment could go against Congress’s wishes by using the Fed to direct radical anti-carbon energy policies.
“The American people are already suffering from generationally high inflation, and this will only be made worse by a centrally planned push toward more expensive, less reliable forms of energy,” Moore said. “It will also destroy the economies of energy-producing states like West Virginia, damaging the growth for our national economy – which depends on a reliable electrical grid – making us more dependent on foreign sources of energy.”
Moore noted how some Eastern European countries and Ukraine are losing energy independence.
“The European countries that President Biden and Sarah Raskin so desperately want to emulate decided to self-implode their coal, oil and natural gas sectors to move toward less reliable sources, which has allowed Russia to simply move in and impose its will in the region,” Moore said. “They’re reliant on Russian gas now, and Russia dictates the terms of those relationships.
“We need energy independence. This is a coordinated effort across all facets of society to push back against and defund the fossil fuel industry.”
Moore also said Biden is Biden is using Raskin’s nomination as a way to advance an agenda that has been rejected by Congress.
“President Biden knows he can’t shove his Green New Deal and Build Back Better social agenda through Congress, so he’s trying to push it through in other ways,” Moore said. “We cannot allow radical nominees like Sarah Bloom Raskin to force their radical, anti-capitalist values on our American way of life.”
Moore compared blocking Raskin’s nomination to his recent push to block banking West Virginia’s public money with financial institutions that avoid investing in fossil fuels. There is a bill before the state Legislature to make this law. It’s already passed the Senate on a 31-2 vote, and it now is in committee in the House of Delegates.
“It’s the exact same thing,” Moore said. “There’s a clear conflict of interest. The state generates revenue from those industries, so why would we hand those dollars over to banks that are trying to destroy those industries?”
Last month, Moore announced that the Board of Treasury Investments, which manages the state’s $8 billion operating funds, no longer will use a BlackRock Inc. investment fund because the investor has urged companies to embrace “net zero” investment strategies that would harm the coal, oil and natural gas industries.
“We need to draw a line in the sand,” Moore said. ““As the state’s chief financial officer and chairman of the Board of Treasury Investments, I have a duty to ensure that taxpayer dollars are managed in a responsible, financially sound fashion which reflects the best interests of our state and country, and I believe doing business with BlackRock runs contrary to that duty.
“BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been outspoken in pressuring corporate leaders to commit to investment goals that will undermine reliable energy sources like coal, natural gas and oil under the guise of helping the planet.”
