The American Council of Life Insurers is celebrating the signing of one federal bill it likes, and hoping Congress will follow up on that by passing a bill that will replace the U.S. Department of Labor's fiduciary rule.
The Washington-based group today put out one statement welcoming the arrival of the Protecting Advice for Small Savers Act of 2017 bill. The ACLI also put out another statement welcoming the signing of H.R. 3110, the Financial Stability Oversight Council Insurance Member Continuity Act bill, by President Donald Trump
The Protecting Advice for Small Savers bill, which does not yet have a bill number, would establish a new standard of conduct for broker-dealers.
The new law based on H.R. 3110 is supposed to increase the odds that the Financial Stability Oversight Council, an agency that helps the federal government monitor and manage potential sources of systemic risk, always has a member who understands insurance.
The ACLI notes in a statement about H.R. 3110 that Republicans and Democrats worked together to pass it: Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, joined with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to get the bill through the Senate, and Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Ill., joined with Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., to get the bill through the House.
Thanks to that bipartisan effort, Congress "showed overwhelming support for the measure," according to ACLI President Dirk Kempthorne.
Wagner's Bill
Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., the sponsor of the standard-of-conduct bill, wants to replace the U.S. Department of Labor's fiduciary rule with a new standard.
The new standard would be administered by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, rather than the DOL.