ESG
Tennessee Taking Lead In Protecting Civil Rights And Free Enterprise—And Stopping Political Debanking
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By ERIC BLEDSOE
Last week, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R.) signed into law a first-of-its-kind ban on politicized debanking. Sponsored by Rep. Jason Zachary (R.) and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R.), HB 2100 will prohibit the nation’s largest banks from discriminating against individuals, businesses, and non-profits for their political and religious views.
The new law is a landmark reform to stop large banks from imposing political litmus tests on Americans.
This legislation (HB 2100) is, of course, a reaction to the trend of the largest financial institutions creating partisan barriers to Americans’ access to financial services. Last year, Bank of America closed the deposit and credit card accounts of Memphis-based non-profit Indigenous Advance Ministries. The organization works with Ugandan widows and orphans to provide for their basic needs through Christian charity. Bank of America refused to give Indigenous Advance a reason why they closed the accounts—just that they no longer wanted to work with their “business type.”
Indigenous Advance’s experience is like what the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF) faced when JPMorgan Chase closed their accounts. NCRF promotes religious liberty for Americans of all religious faiths. Chase said it would restore NCRF’s accounts if it disclosed a list of its donors, told the bank which political candidates it intended to support, and sent them the criteria NCRF uses to decide who they want to support politically. NCRF, out of respect for their donors’ right to privacy, declined.
John Eastman, past attorney for former President Donald Trump, was debanked twice at the end of last year by Bank of America and USAA. Again, the banks provided little to no explanation for the sudden closures. Eastman told the Daily Caller that the banks said it was their policy to not provide any further information. Banks stonewalling their customers on why they close their accounts is alarmingly becoming a pattern.
In December 2022, Wells Fargo abruptly closed the personal and business accounts of Brandon Wexler, a Florida-based gun dealer. The bank’s only explanation was a brief mention that it was due to their review of account risk. Wexler had a personal account with Wells Fargo for 25 years and a business account for 14 years. One instance of an account closing might not be worthy of attention, but more and more examples like these are becoming more common. And the only common thread, besides banks refusing to explain their actions, is that the targets of debanking hold political and religious views unpopular on Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. This does not appear to be a policy at one bank, but an unspoken policy across the industry. Commenting on Wells Fargo’s action against him, Wexler said, “I’ve been with them for 25 years,” […] “I’m a professional fireman. I do everything the right way. It’s messed up.”
But large banks debanking individuals and non-profits is not the full extent of politically motivated financial service providers’ discrimination. In September, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sent a letter sent a letter to financial service providers who are signatories to the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance (NZFSPA) warning them that their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies may be in violation of antitrust and consumer protection laws. Both state and federal laws prohibit coordinated or collaborative efforts between corporations to restrict trade or commerce. All members of NZFSPA agree to “(a)lign all relevant services and products to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, scaling and mainstreaming Paris Agreement-alignment into the core of our business.” Though the 27 members of NZFSPA are supposed competitors in the financial services market, their joint commitment to restrict sectors of the economy like fossil fuel is clearly a coordinated effort.
Large financial institutions’ boycott of fossil fuel and discriminatory actions against individuals and non-profits for their religious or political views may seem disconnected at first. But those following the ESG movement won’t be surprised to see these politically motivated efforts across multiple sectors. Last month, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sounded the alarm over these radical policies to Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf with the support of 15 other state attorneys general. A member of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), Wells Fargo has committed, alongside 143 other banks, to implement ESG policies. In the letter, the attorneys general noted that Wells Fargo has a record of debanking Republican candidates and the firearms industry, imposing race- and gender-based quotas on credit customers, and publicly committing to implement radical climate standards on the energy industry.
Leftist activists realize they cannot accomplish such a radical agenda of eroding individual rights and a free economy through the ballot box. ESG is a political tool that enables the far left to bypass the democratic process to will their worldview onto Americans’ lives. In response, policymakers and other stakeholders must strengthen and enforce civil liberties protections, consumer rights, and antitrust laws, so that political activists cease willing their agenda on citizens.
Fortunately, states like Tennessee are taking the lead in protecting civil rights and free enterprise.
Eric Bledsoe is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
From StosselTV
The government promised to expand broadband, build hundreds of thousands of EV chargers, and to bring back semiconductor jobs. They delivered delays, waste, and failure. Why? Because they spend your money, not their own.
After three years and $65 billion spent to expand broadband, not a single person has yet been connected.
Also, two years into Biden’s $7.5 billion EV charging stations initiative, which was supposed to build 500,000 stations, only seven have been built.
The CHIPS Act promised to bring semiconductor jobs back to America. But the money got tied up in DEI quotas, climate pledges, and union mandates.
When bureaucrats spend other people’s money, they have little incentive to spend it carefully. Our new video explains why government should leave building things to the private sector.
After 40+ years of reporting, I now understand the importance of limited government and personal freedom.
——————————————
Libertarian journalist John Stossel created Stossel TV to explain liberty and free markets to young people.
Prior to Stossel TV he hosted a show on Fox Business and co-anchored ABC’s primetime newsmagazine show, 20/20.
Stossel’s economic programs have been adapted into teaching kits by a non-profit organization, “Stossel in the Classroom.” High school teachers in American public schools now use the videos to help educate their students on economics and economic freedom. They are seen by more than 12 million students every year.
Stossel has received 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. Other honors include the George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and the George Foster Peabody Award.
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Censorship Industrial Complex
Biden admin used banks to spy on Americans’ financial data, targeted Trump supporters: House report
From LifeSiteNews
‘The scale of this surveillance is staggering,’ warns a startling new US House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. ‘Without safeguards, this could lead to widespread abuse of power and debanking.’
A startling report from the U.S. House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government reveals how, under the Biden-Harris administration, the FBI and the Treasury Department have manipulated federal laws such as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to access Americans’ private financial data – without a warrant.
The committee has published a succinct video summary of its 47-page report on X, beginning with a question: “Think your finances are private? Think again.”
The video explains:
“The federal government has conditioned financial institutions to work for them, inducing them to hand over your sensitive financial data without a warrant
When a bank submits an inquiry with your financial details, the federal government compiles it into a searchable database. In 2023, this database was accessed by over 14,000 government employees to conduct more than 3 million warrantless searches.
The federal government’s financial surveillance program is vast and can lead to something called ‘debanking.’ If you’re flagged, you could lose access to your own money. If you buy a Bible, shop at Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, or an ammo store, your financial data could be shared.
The system is broken and your privacy is under attack. Federal law enforcement is seeking unfettered access to your finances, all while ignoring your 4th Amendment rights.
The next time you swipe your card, know that someone may be watching. And it’s not just the banks. It’s the federal government.”
Purchase of Bibles or firearms deemed by the government as signs of ‘extremism’
“It all started after a whistleblower told the Committee that following January 6, Bank of America (BoA) voluntarily provided the FBI with a list of individuals who used BoA cards in the DC area during that time—without legal process,” noted the committee in a thread on X. “The federal government used sweeping terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘TRUMP’ to flag Americans, even treating the purchase of Bibles or firearms as signs of ‘extremism.’”
“The scale of this surveillance is staggering,” they declared on X.
“This ongoing investigation reveals a disturbing trend: The government is using financial institutions as de facto arms of law enforcement, profiling Americans and flagging them as ‘suspicious’ based on vague criteria,” continues the thread. “Without safeguards, this could lead to widespread abuse of power and debanking. This investigation is not over. The federal government’s ability to spy on Americans’ financial data cannot go unchecked.”
The committee report warns:
All Americans should be disturbed by how their financial data is collected, made accessible to, and searched by federal and state officials, including law enforcement and regulatory agencies. With the rise in e-commerce and the widespread adoption of cash alternatives like credit cards or peer-to-peer payment services, the future leaves very little financial activity beyond the purview of modern financial institutions or the government’s prying eyes. This is because, as a condition of participating in the modern economy, Americans are forced to disclose details of their private lives to a financial industry that has been too eager to pass this information along to federal law enforcement.
‘Your beliefs or your bank account: You can’t have both’
“No American should have to worry that a financial institution will deny them service based on their religious beliefs,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Jeremy Tedesco concerning a case involving the debanking by Bank of America of a conservative Christian charity that partners with Ugandan ministries to provide basic necessities for orphaned and vulnerable children. “Canceling their account hurts those in need. It also sends a disturbing message to everyone—you can have your beliefs or your bank account, but you can’t have both.”
Bank of America is not the only major financial institution engaging in this type of behavior. ADF cited examples of JPMorgan Chase denying payments or cancelling accounts associated with people and organizations who hold mainstream American values, including:
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