House votes to block DOL fiduciary rule

May 02, 2016 at 09:06 AM
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The House late Thursday passed H.J. Res. 88, the bill introduced by GOP lawmakers under the Congressional Review Act that would block the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said after the 234-183 vote in favor of the Protecting Access to Affordable Retirement Advice, that "bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. have no business getting between you and your financial planner. But that's what the Obama administration's fiduciary rule does."

Ryan, R-Wis., who has come out against DOL's rule in tweets and statements, argued like other GOP lawmakers that the rule is "Obamacare for financial planning," That's why, Ryan continued, "the House has exercised its powers under the Congressional Review Act to reject the administration's onerous rule."

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Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., who co-sponsored the resolution along with Reps. Phil Roe, R-Tenn. and Charles Boustany, R-Lousiana, applauded the House passage of the resolution and reiterated Ryan's claim that DOL's fiduciary rule "is Obamacare for your retirement savings, only hurting those it claims to protect: low- and middle-income families who are looking to responsibly save for retirement in the midst of a savings crisis."  

She thanked her colleagues for coming together "to put a stop to this misguided rule that is the epitome of a top-down, Washington-knows-best power grab."

Wagner said the 1,000 page rule "would ultimately create two classes of investors: those who can afford help in saving for retirement and those who cannot."

She added that she looked forward to the Senate acting on the resolution "and sending it to the President's desk."

But President Obama vowed on Wednesday to veto the resolution.

Roe conceded Tuesday afternoon that the president would indeed veto the resolution and the industry "will be stuck" with DOL's rule.

Roe vowed to continue fighting the rule. He said at a Tuesday afternoon event on Capitol Hill that given that the full compliance date with DOL's rule isn't until January 2018, "it will probably be 2020 before you really start to see the effects of it."

The DOL fiduciary rule is a "trial lawyer's dream," Roe said, and "somebody has to pay somebody for crawling through that rule."

If re-elected, "I will be on the same subcommittee and we will focus on this like a laser beam," Roe continued. "I think it's going to be a major problem."

But Labor Secretary Tom Perez has stated DOL's final fiduciary rule can survive any legal challenge. 

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