U.S. House passes resolution to block DOL’s fiduciary rule

Legal Newsline reports on a letter from CEI and other organizations to Congress urging them to pass a resolution of disapproval to block the Department of Labor's Fiduciary Rule. 

In a letter to members of Congress last week, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and other groups defending free markets and constitutional liberties urged lawmakers to back Roe’s bill.

“Under the fiduciary rule, the DOL claims authority never granted by Congress to greatly restrict investment choices for 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and other saving vehicles,” they wrote Thursday.

“In the earlier, proposed regulation, referred to by many as ‘Obamacare for your IRA,’ the DOL did not even bother to hide its contempt for the intelligence of American savers. It said most Americans can’t ‘prudently manage retirement assets on their own.’ Based on this paternalism, the administration now mandates that investment professionals — even if they are serving self-directed investors — must adhere to the government’s one-size-fits-all definition of ‘best interest’ for the investment products they offer.

The groups noted that center-left economists have concluded the rule would cause many Americans to lose their current brokers and could end up costing savers $80 billion over the next decade.

“We believe the federal government should vigorously prosecute actual fraud by financial professionals, but otherwise leave savers free to seek guidance and make investment choices they deem in their own best interests, taking account of their own individual circumstances and preferences,” they wrote.

Read the full article at Legal Newsline.