WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today announced the Senate passed a resolution of disapproval to prevent the Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing its “fiduciary rule,” which would have a harmful effect on retirement for middle-income Americans and small businesses. 

“This rule will make it more difficult for low and middle-income families, the very people who they say this rule is intended to help, to save for retirement,” said Roberts. “It takes away the potential for millions of Americans to have a conversation with a knowledgeable and trusted professional on how to save for retirement and how to spend and re-invest when they reach that point in their life.”

On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized a rewrite of its definition of a “fiduciary,” allegedly to protect individuals from misleading investment advice, but, in practice, the new rule will make retirement planning unaffordable for low- to middle-income Americans whose accounts are not valuable enough for advisors to take on the new legal liability created by the rule. A similar rule was proposed by DOL in 2010, but it was withdrawn after it was met with bipartisan opposition as it would have limited access to investment advice for working and middle-income Americans.

Roberts sent a letter last year warning of the potential negative impact of approving the proposed rule. He also sent a letter requesting an extension of the comment period of the proposed rule.

Today, Roberts voted in favor of the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 88, which passed by a bipartisan vote of 56-41. The resolution passed the House of Representatives last month and now heads to the president’s desk. Roberts is a cosponsor of the Senate version of the resolution, S.J. Res. 33, which was introduced by U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and is cosponsored by 39 other senators.

Under the Congressional Review Act, the House and Senate vote on a joint resolution of disapproval to stop, with the full force of law, a federal agency from implementing a rule or regulation or issuing a substantially similar regulation without congressional authorization. A resolution of disapproval only needs a simple majority to pass and cannot be filibustered or amended, if acted upon a 60-day window. The resolution of disapproval must also be signed by the president or Congress can overturn a veto with a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.

Roberts has also cosponsored bills to provide a commonsense alternative to the administration’s so-called fiduciary rule. These solutions would give protection to middle-income investors by prohibiting unreasonable compensation for investment advisors and requiring the disclosures of their compensation on transactions. The SAVERS (Strengthening Access to Valuable Education and Retirement Support) Act would fix the fiduciary rule by amending the tax code, and the Affordable Retirement Advice Protection Act (ARAPA) would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, both requiring Congress to vote before any fiduciary rule is finalized.