Bill > HR1618

This bill, titled the "Restructuring Environmentally Sound Pensions in Order to Negate Disaster Act of 2021" or the "RESPOND Act of 2021," has several key provisions. Firstly, it requires the Federal Reserve System and the Securities and Exchange Commission to submit an annual report to Congress projecting and accounting for the economic costs directly and indirectly caused by the impacts of climate change. Secondly, it directs the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to establish a Federal Advisory Panel on the Economics of Climate Change, which will advise the Board on making investments that help the U.S. achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Finally, if the Board is unable to determine that implementing low-carbon investment strategies would be financially profitable and consistent with its fiduciary duties, the bill mandates the establishment of a "Climate Choice Stock Index Fund" within the Thrift Savings Plan, which would exclude investments in fossil fuel entities.