Congressional proponents of environmental, social and governance investing have formed the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus. Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif., and Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., will lead the group.

"Given the significant growth of assets under management in funds that prioritize ESG factors, Congress has a duty to craft policies that provide investor protections and transparency of information to market participants," Casten said. "I'm excited to partner with Rep. Vargas to bring together members of Congress and experts to progress past the distortion of facts and have robust, open-minded discussions about sustainable investing."

The objectives of the caucus are:

• Educate members of Congress about the market-driven benefits of sustainable investment and inform policymaking that provides investor protections and market transparency
• Hold regularly scheduled events, briefings and discussions with investors, fund managers, companies and regulators
• Support the ability of federal agencies to advance proposals, rules and regulations that recognize the importance of using ESG criteria in the investment process.

ESG investing has drawn broad interest in the financial sector as well as rising opposition in states such as Texas, Kentucky, Florida and West Virginia and some Republicans in Congress.