Lawmakers Move to Torpedo New DOL Fiduciary Rule
Four senators — three Republicans and one Democrat — introduced Wednesday a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Labor Department’s new fiduciary rule.
The senators — Ted Budd, R-N.C.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas — said in a joint statement Wednesday that the new rule, which Labor released on April 23, “would endanger financial choice and access.”
Cassidy is the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to overturn rules issued by a presidential administration through a joint resolution of disapproval. The resolution must pass the House and Senate and be signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto, the rule at issue is overturned.
DOL’s new fiduciary rule “redefines who qualifies as an ‘investment advice fiduciary’” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, “and threatens to gut a wide range of financial tools that many of the largest financial planning and wealth management firms currently offer consumers, including basic financial education and investment planning courses, life insurance, annuity plans, and other financial instruments,” the senators said.
