WASHINGTON - Today, House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Secretary Julie Su demanding the agency cease further action amending the definition of an investment advice fiduciary. Additionally, the letter lays out DOL’s multiple conflicting positions on the fiduciary rule and how it has caused serious damage for American savers.
In the letter, the Members write: “Over the last two years, the Department has espoused at least three separate positions on what it means to be an investment advice fiduciary. By failing to articulate itself consistently, the Department has created unnecessary instability for retirement plans, retirees, and savers."
The Members continue: “As Biden’s DOL continues to change its stance in this area, we remind the Department of its attempt to promulgate a definition of fiduciary under ERISA section 3(21) in 2016 (the “2016 Fiduciary Rule"). This ill-conceived and overreaching rule was decisively vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and it should serve as a cautionary example."
The Members conclude: “No American deserves to have his or her financial security threatened for political gain. … We request that DOL cease further action on this rulemaking. We look forward to your prompt attention to this matter and to your response to this letter."