Press Releases

State Treasurer Riley Moore today urged members of Congress to oppose any attempts to pass federal legislation that would require banks to end future investment in coal, oil and natural gas companies or projects.

“Any attempts to pass legislation banning investment in reliable, affordable sources of energy is an anti-American assault on our capitalist economy and financial freedoms,” Treasurer Moore said. “This is further evidence that liberals in Congress will stop at nothing to impose their radical social agenda on our West Virginia way of life.”

Treasurer Moore’s comments were in response to an opinion piece penned by U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., in the Boston Globe critical of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s stance on climate change policies at the Fed.

“The Fed and the big banks must be compelled, through federal legislation, to act on the threat that climate change poses to our financial system and the planet,” Sen. Markey wrote. “This includes mandating that major banks and financial institutions stop the financing of projects and activities that emit greenhouse gases and prohibiting the financing of new or expanded fossil fuel projects by 2022, the financing of all fossil fuel projects by 2030, and thermal coal financing by 2025.”

Sen. Markey is chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Climate Change Task Force.

“Democrats are making crystal clear in the press they want to force banks to stop lending to the fossil fuel industries – cutting off jobs, benefits and paychecks to tens of thousands of hard-working families across our country,” Treasurer Moore said. “These blatant attempts to use government power to pick winners and losers are nothing but un-American command-and-control economic tactics, bearing all the hallmarks of socialism.

“Sen. Markey and his allies are using the guise of climate change and ‘woke capitalism’ to advance a socialist agenda that will destroy the economic fabric of our country,” Treasurer Moore said.  “These liberal assaults on perfectly legal industries must not be tolerated. I urge our Congressional allies to strongly reject these insane proposals.”

Treasurer Moore has been leading a multi-state coalition to stand up to the Biden administration and banks that cut off financing to coal, oil and natural gas companies. He has formed a coalition of states with more than $600 billion in assets under management which has committed to take action to protect their states from coal, oil and natural gas divestment.

He promised he will work with West Virginia’s Congressional delegation to block any future federal legislation on the topic.

“We’re in an energy crisis right now, with home heating costs, gasoline and coal prices all skyrocketing – we need more investment in reliable energy sources right now, not less,” Treasurer Moore said. “These proposals to manipulate the banking industry to advance a radical socialist agenda must be stopped.”

The Treasury does not collect state taxes. Visit the The West Virginia State Tax Department for assistance.

West Virginia State Treasurer's Office
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