Press Releases

Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI); Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Rick Allen (R-GA); and Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) sent a letter to Theresa Taylor, President and Vice Chair of Investment for the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), to examine CalPERS’ failure to safeguard workers’ pension benefits to fund radical left-wing causes.

In the letter, the Members write: “CalPERS as a public pension is eligible for significant tax subsidies if, among other things, its benefits are provided ‘for the exclusive benefit of [an employer’s] employees or their beneficiaries.’  The Committee seeks information to determine whether CalPERS is undermining this requirement by prioritizing a radical [ESG] agenda over its obligation to its beneficiaries….”

The letter continues: “On October 28, the Committee learned that CalPERS lost 71 percent of its nearly half-a-billion-dollar investment in the private equity CalPERS Clean Energy and Technology Fund (CETF). Since committing to CETF in 2007, CalPERS has channeled more than $468 million into the fund…CalPERS’ loss in CETF is just the most recent example of CalPERS prioritizing ESG considerations ahead of its responsibilities to safeguard the pension fund. As of March 31, 2025, the investment’s value was less than $138.1 million.”

The Members conclude: “CalPERS claims significant tax benefits under [Internal Revenue] Code section 401(a), which applies only to plans maintained ‘for the exclusive benefit of [an employer’s] employees or their beneficiaries.’ However, the instances cited above do not appear to be consistent with this rule. To the extent that CalPERS is using plan assets for the benefit of social or political causes, the plan’s qualified tax status is no longer valid.”

Read the full letter here.