Lawmakers Advance Two Measures to Kill DOL Fiduciary Rule

“In its rush to adopt this rule, the DOL ignored sound evidence of its harmful effects as well as the actions taken by federal and state regulators since 2020 to enhance the regulation of financial professionals,” Chopus said.

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., ranking member on the Education and Workforce committee, voted against the resolution.

“Unfortunately, unscrupulous financial advisors can steer their retirement clients into high-fee products that are not in the client’s best interest but are in the interests of the financial advisor,” Scott said. “This is what’s known as conflicted advice, and it’s harming retirement savers.”

The Biden-Harris administration’s Retirement Security Rule “would end this insidious practice and help ensure workers, retirees, and retirement plan sponsors receive advice that’s in their best interests. I’m surprised that the concept is apparently controversial,” Scott added.

According to Morningstar, Scott continued, “retirement plan participants would save over $55 billion in the first 10 years after implementation and over $130 billion in the 10 years after that, just by getting information that’s in their best interest, not in the best interest of the financial advisors.”

Insurance Groups Weigh In

The American Council of Life Insurers, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, IRI, National Association for Fixed Annuities and Finseca, said Wednesday in a joint statement that “the actions taken today by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee send a clear message that the Labor Department’s fiduciary-only regulation does not align with Congress’s efforts to expand retirement security for all Americans through the increased availability of lifetime income options.”